Techniques for automatically generating a suggested contact based on a received message

ABSTRACT

An electronic device suggests contacts and calendar events for users based on their messages. The device can analyze a user&#39;s messages for contact and event information and automatically generate or update suggested contacts and calendar events for the user based on this information. The suggested contacts and calendar events can be searchable as if they were manually entered by the user, and the user can choose to add or ignore the suggested contacts and calendar events.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/005,839, “STRUCTURED SUGGESTIONS,” filed on May 30, 2014,the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

This disclosure relates generally to context-aware computing, and morespecifically, to identifying and providing suggested contact informationand event information to users.

2. Description of Art

Modern electronic devices allow users to be more connected than ever tofriends, colleagues and activities. However, managing contacts andcalendar events on electronic devices can be burdensome. For example,adding or updating a contact or calendar event typically requiresseveral manual steps. As a result, many users neglect to maintain theiraddress books and calendars, choosing instead to rely on an inefficientsearch of stored messages and other content on their devices when theyneed to locate information on people or events. This can create afrustrating user experience and lead to a loss in productivity.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In some embodiments, a method of suggesting a contact comprises: at anelectronic device: receiving a message; identifying, in the receivedmessage, an entity and contact information associated with the entity;determining that a contact associated with the identified entity doesnot exist among a plurality of contacts in a database; and in responseto the determining, generating a contact associated with the entity, thegenerated contact comprising the contact information and an indicationthat the generated contact is a suggested contact.

In some embodiments, a method of suggesting a contact comprises: at anelectronic device: receiving a message; identifying, in the receivedmessage, an entity and an item of contact information associated withthe entity; determining that a contact associated with the identifiedentity exists among a plurality of contacts in a database and that thecontact does not comprise the identified item of contact information;and in response to the determining, updating the contact to comprise theitem of contact information and an indication that the item of contactinformation is a suggested item of contact information.

In some embodiments, a method of suggesting a contact comprising: at anelectronic device with a display: receiving a message; identifying, inthe received message, an entity and contact information associated withthe entity; generating an indication that the identified contactinformation is suggested contact information; and displaying a firstuser interface corresponding to a contact associated with the entity,the first user interface comprising a first user interface object, basedon the generated indication, indicating that the identified contactinformation is suggested contact information.

In some embodiments, a method of suggesting a contact comprising: at anelectronic device with a display: receiving a message; identifying, inthe received message, an entity and contact information associated withthe entity; and displaying a first user interface corresponding to thereceived message, the first user interface comprising: a first portioncomprising content of the message as received by the electronic device;and a second portion comprising: a first user interface objectcorresponding to the identified entity; a second user interface objectcorresponding to the identified contact information; and a third userinterface object associated with the identified contact informationthat, when selected, causes the electronic device to add the identifiedcontact information to a database.

In some embodiments, a method of suggesting a calendar event comprising:at an electronic device: receiving a message; identifying, in thereceived message, event information; and generating a calendar eventassociated with the identified event information, the generated calendarevent comprising the event information and an indication that thegenerated calendar event is a suggested calendar event.

In some embodiments, a method of suggesting a calendar event comprising:at an electronic device with a display: receiving a message;identifying, in the received message, event information; and displayinga first user interface corresponding to the received message, the firstuser interface comprising: a first portion comprising content of themessage as received by the electronic device; and a second portioncomprising: a first user interface object corresponding to theidentified event information; and a second user interface objectassociated with the identified event information that, when selected,causes the electronic device to add the identified event information toa database comprising a plurality of calendar events.

In some embodiments, a method of suggesting multiple contacts and/orcalendar events comprising: at an electronic device with a display:receiving a message; identifying, in the received message, multipleinstances of contact or event information; and displaying a first userinterface corresponding to the received message, the first userinterface comprising: a first portion comprising content of the messageas received by the electronic device; and a second portion that, whenselected, causes the electronic device to display a second userinterface comprising a list of the multiple instances of identifiedcontact or event information.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction devicewith a touch-sensitive display in accordance with some examples.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screenin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some

FIG. 5A illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary data architecturefor suggested contacts in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary data architecturefor suggested calendar events in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6G illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providing suggestedcontacts and calendar events in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process forgenerating a suggested contact in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process forupdating an existing contact with a suggested item of contactinformation in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisplaying a contact with suggested contact information in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisplaying suggested contact information with a message in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process forgenerating a suggested calendar event in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisplaying suggested event information with a message in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisplaying multiple suggested contact or event information with amessage in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the disclosure and embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which it is shown byway of illustration specific embodiments that can be practiced. It is tobe understood that other embodiments and examples can be practiced andchanges can be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

As noted above, managing contacts and calendar events on an electronicdevice can be burdensome to a user because adding or updating contactsand calendar events requires several manual steps that adds up overtime. Because of this, many users simply neglect to keep their addressbooks and calendars up to date, which costs them time later when theyneed to manually search their device for particular contact or eventinformation. This can lead to a frustrating user experience and loss inproductivity.

The present disclosure addresses this problem by providing an electronicdevice that automatically suggests contacts and calendar events forusers based on their messages. The device can analyze a user's messagesfor contact and event information and automatically generate or updatesuggested contacts and calendar events for the user based on thisinformation. The suggested contacts and calendar events can besearchable as if they were manually entered by the user, and the usercan choose to add or ignore the suggested contacts and calendar events.In this manner, a user's contacts and calendar events can be maintainedwith no or minimal effort on the user's part, which can save the usertime, enhance productivity and produce a more efficient human-machineinterface.

1. Exemplary Devices

Below, FIGS. 1A-1B, 2, and 3 provide a description of exemplary devicesfor performing the techniques for suggesting contact and eventinformation. FIGS. 4A-4B and 6A-6G illustrate exemplary user interfacesfor suggesting contact and event information. The user interfaces in theFIGS. are also used to illustrate the processes described below,including the processes in FIGS. 7A-13.

Although the following description uses terms “first,” “second,” etc. todescribe various elements, these elements should not be limited by theterms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element fromanother. For example, a first touch could be termed a second touch, and,similarly, a second touch could be termed a first touch, withoutdeparting from the scope of the various described embodiments. The firsttouch and the second touch are both touches, but they are not the sametouch.

The terminology used in the description of the various describedembodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in thedescription of the various described embodiments and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a”, “an,” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

The term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in responseto determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context.Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated conditionor event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or“in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition orevent]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],”depending on the context.

Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, andassociated processes for using such devices are described. In someembodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as amobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/ormusic player functions. Exemplary embodiments of portable multifunctiondevices include, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad®devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronicdevices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitivesurfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touchpads), are,optionally, used. It should also be understood that, in someembodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but isa desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screendisplay and/or a touchpad).

In the discussion that follows, an electronic device that includes adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should beunderstood, however, that the electronic device optionally includes oneor more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physicalkeyboard, a mouse, and/or a joystick.

The device may support a variety of applications, such as one or more ofthe following: a drawing application, a presentation application, a wordprocessing application, a website creation application, a disk authoringapplication, a spreadsheet application, a gaming application, atelephone application, a video conferencing application, an e-mailapplication, an instant messaging application, a workout supportapplication, a photo management application, a digital cameraapplication, a digital video camera application, a web browsingapplication, a digital music player application, and/or a digital videoplayer application.

The various applications that are executed on the device optionally useat least one common physical user-interface device, such as thetouch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitivesurface as well as corresponding information displayed on the deviceare, optionally, adjusted and/or varied from one application to the nextand/or within a respective application. In this way, a common physicalarchitecture (such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the deviceoptionally supports the variety of applications with user interfacesthat are intuitive and transparent to the user.

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices withtouch-sensitive displays. FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustratingportable multifunction device 100 with touch-sensitive display system112 in accordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitive display 112 issometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience and is sometimes knownas or called a “touch-sensitive display system.” Device 100 includesmemory 102 (which optionally includes one or more computer-readablestorage mediums), memory controller 122, one or more processing units(CPUs) 120, peripherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry110, speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem 106,other input control devices 116, and external port 124. Device 100optionally includes one or more optical sensors 164. Device 100optionally includes one or more contact intensity sensors 165 fordetecting intensity of contacts on device 100 (e.g., a touch-sensitivesurface such as touch-sensitive display system 112 of device 100).Device 100 optionally includes one or more tactile output generators 167for generating tactile outputs on device 100 (e.g., generating tactileoutputs on a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive displaysystem 112 of device 100 or touchpad 355 of device 300). Thesecomponents optionally communicate over one or more communication busesor signal lines 103.

As used in the specification and claims, the term “intensity” of acontact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure(force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact) on thetouch-sensitive surface, or to a substitute (proxy) for the force orpressure of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The intensity of acontact has a range of values that includes at least four distinctvalues and more typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., atleast 256). Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (ormeasured) using various approaches and various sensors or combinationsof sensors. For example, one or more force sensors underneath oradjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are, optionally, used to measureforce at various points on the touch-sensitive surface. In someimplementations, force measurements from multiple force sensors arecombined (e.g., a weighted average) to determine an estimated force of acontact. Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally,used to determine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitivesurface. Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on thetouch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance of thetouch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto,and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to thecontact and/or changes thereto are, optionally, used as a substitute forthe force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface. Insome implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force orpressure are used directly to determine whether an intensity thresholdhas been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in unitscorresponding to the substitute measurements). In some implementations,the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are convertedto an estimated force or pressure, and the estimated force or pressureis used to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded(e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in unitsof pressure). Using the intensity of a contact as an attribute of a userinput allows for user access to additional device functionality that mayotherwise not be accessible by the user on a reduced-size device withlimited real estate for displaying affordances (e.g., on atouch-sensitive display) and/or receiving user input (e.g., via atouch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or aphysical/mechanical control such as a knob or a button).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “tactile output”refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a previousposition of the device, physical displacement of a component (e.g., atouch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to another component(e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of the component relativeto a center of mass of the device that will be detected by a user withthe user's sense of touch. For example, in situations where the deviceor the component of the device is in contact with a surface of a userthat is sensitive to touch (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of auser's hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacementwill be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding toa perceived change in physical characteristics of the device or thecomponent of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitivesurface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally,interpreted by the user as a “down click” or “up click” of a physicalactuator button. In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensationsuch as an “down click” or “up click” even when there is no movement ofa physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive surfacethat is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movements. Asanother example, movement of the touch-sensitive surface is, optionally,interpreted or sensed by the user as “roughness” of the touch-sensitivesurface, even when there is no change in smoothness of thetouch-sensitive surface. While such interpretations of touch by a userwill be subject to the individualized sensory perceptions of the user,there are many sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a largemajority of users. Thus, when a tactile output is described ascorresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an “upclick,” a “down click,” “roughness”), unless otherwise stated, thegenerated tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of thedevice or a component thereof that will generate the described sensoryperception for a typical (or average) user.

It should be appreciated that device 100 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 100 optionally has moreor fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or morecomponents, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangementof the components. The various components shown in FIG. 1A areimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware andsoftware, including one or more signal processing and/orapplication-specific integrated circuits.

Memory 102 may include one or more computer readable storage mediums.The computer readable storage mediums may be tangible andnon-transitory. Memory 102 may include high-speed random access memoryand may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magneticdisk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatilesolid-state memory devices. Memory controller 122 may control access tomemory 102 by other components of device 100.

Peripherals interface 118 can be used to couple input and outputperipherals of the device to CPU 120 and memory 102. The one or moreprocessors 120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets ofinstructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions fordevice 100 and to process data. In some embodiments, peripheralsinterface 118, CPU 120, and memory controller 122 may be implemented ona single chip, such as chip 104. In some other embodiments, they may beimplemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 optionally includes well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RFcircuitry 108 optionally communicates with networks, such as theInternet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranetand/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, awireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network(MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The RF circuitry 108optionally includes well-known circuitry for detecting near fieldcommunication (NFC) fields, such as by a short-range communicationradio. The wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols, and technologies, including but notlimited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced DataGSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA),high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO),HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), long term evolution (LTE), nearfield communication (NFC), wideband code division multiple access(W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n,and/or IEEE 802.11ac), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, aprotocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP)and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensiblemessaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol forInstant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), InstantMessaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service(SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, includingcommunication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of thisdocument.

Audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, and microphone 113 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 100. Audio circuitry 110 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 118, converts the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 111.Speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.Audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted bymicrophone 113 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 110 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 118 for processing. Audio data may be retrievedfrom and/or transmitted to memory 102 and/or RF circuitry 108 byperipherals interface 118. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 110 alsoincludes a headset jack (e.g., 212, FIG. 2). The headset jack providesan interface between audio circuitry 110 and removable audioinput/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headsetwith both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input(e.g., a microphone).

I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on device 100, suchas touch screen 112 and other input control devices 116, to peripheralsinterface 118. I/O subsystem 106 optionally includes display controller156, optical sensor controller 158, intensity sensor controller 159,haptic feedback controller 161, and one or more input controllers 160for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers160 receive/send electrical signals from/to other input control devices116. The other input control devices 116 optionally include physicalbuttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, sliderswitches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternateembodiments, input controller(s) 160 are, optionally, coupled to any (ornone) of the following: a keyboard, an infrared port, a USB port, and apointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g., 208, FIG.2) optionally include an up/down button for volume control of speaker111 and/or microphone 113. The one or more buttons optionally include apush button (e.g., 206, FIG. 2).

A quick press of the push button may disengage a lock of touch screen112 or begin a process that uses gestures on the touch screen to unlockthe device, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/322,549,“Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on an Unlock Image,” filedDec. 23, 2005, U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,849, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. A longer press of the push button (e.g., 206)may turn power to device 100 on or off. The user may be able tocustomize a functionality of one or more of the buttons. Touch screen112 is used to implement virtual or soft buttons and one or more softkeyboards.

Touch-sensitive display 112 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 156 receivesand/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 112. Touch screen112 displays visual output to the user. The visual output may includegraphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectivelytermed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visualoutput may correspond to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or set ofsensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactilecontact. Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 (along with anyassociated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detectcontact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen112 and convert the detected contact into interaction withuser-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages,or images) that are displayed on touch screen 112. In an exemplaryembodiment, a point of contact between touch screen 112 and the usercorresponds to a finger of the user.

Touch screen 112 may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD(light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emittingdiode) technology, although other display technologies may be used inother embodiments. Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 maydetect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of aplurality of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed,including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, andsurface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensorarrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contactwith touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutualcapacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in theiPhone® and iPod Touch® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112 may beanalogous to the multi-touch sensitive touchpads described in thefollowing U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat. No.6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932(Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1, each ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However,touch screen 112 displays visual output from device 100, whereas touchsensitive touchpads do not provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112 may beas described in the following applications: (1) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller,” filed May 2,2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862, “MultipointTouchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jul. 30,2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,264, “Gestures ForTouch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical User InterfacesFor Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,758, “Virtual Input Device Placement On ATouch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (7) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of A Computer With A TouchScreen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of A Touch-Screen VirtualKeyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” filed Mar. 3, 2006. Allof these applications are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

Touch screen 112 may have a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi. Insome embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user may make contact with touch screen 112using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, andso forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to workprimarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be lessprecise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of afinger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translatesthe rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position orcommand for performing the actions desired by the user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 100 mayinclude a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particularfunctions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive areaof the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visualoutput. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separatefrom touch screen 112 or an extension of the touch-sensitive surfaceformed by the touch screen.

Device 100 also includes power system 162 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 162 may include a power management system, oneor more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), arecharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converteror inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode(LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 100 may also include one or more optical sensors 164. FIG. 1Ashows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 158 in I/Osubsystem 106. Optical sensor 164 may include charge-coupled device(CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)phototransistors. Optical sensor 164 receives light from theenvironment, projected through one or more lenses, and converts thelight to data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module143 (also called a camera module), optical sensor 164 may capture stillimages or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located onthe back of device 100, opposite touch screen display 112 on the frontof the device so that the touch screen display may be used as aviewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In someembodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of the device sothat the user's image may be obtained for video conferencing while theuser views the other video conference participants on the touch screendisplay. In some embodiments, the position of optical sensor 164 can bechanged by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens and the sensor in thedevice housing) so that a single optical sensor 164 may be used alongwith the touch screen display for both video conferencing and stilland/or video image acquisition.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more contact intensitysensors 165. FIG. 1A shows a contact intensity sensor coupled tointensity sensor controller 159 in I/O subsystem 106. Contact intensitysensor 165 optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges,capacitive force sensors, electric force sensors, piezoelectric forcesensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, orother intensity sensors (e.g., sensors used to measure the force (orpressure) of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface). Contact intensitysensor 165 receives contact intensity information (e.g., pressureinformation or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment.In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocatedwith, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitivedisplay system 112). In some embodiments, at least one contact intensitysensor is located on the back of device 100, opposite touch screendisplay 112, which is located on the front of device 100.

Device 100 may also include one or more proximity sensors 166. FIG. 1Ashows proximity sensor 166 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, proximity sensor 166 may be coupled to input controller 160in I/O subsystem 106. Proximity sensor 166 may perform as described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/241,839, “Proximity Detector InHandheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/240,788, “Proximity Detector In HandheldDevice”; Ser. No. 11/620,702, “Using Ambient Light Sensor To AugmentProximity Sensor Output”; Ser. No. 11/586,862, “Automated Response ToAnd Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices”; and Ser. No.11/638,251, “Methods And Systems For Automatic Configuration OfPeripherals,” which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety. In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turns off anddisables touch screen 112 when the multifunction device is placed nearthe user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more tactile outputgenerators 167. FIG. 1A shows a tactile output generator coupled tohaptic feedback controller 161 in I/O subsystem 106. Tactile outputgenerator 167 optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devicessuch as speakers or other audio components and/or electromechanicaldevices that convert energy into linear motion such as a motor,solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostaticactuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., acomponent that converts electrical signals into tactile outputs on thedevice). Contact intensity sensor 165 receives tactile feedbackgeneration instructions from haptic feedback module 133 and generatestactile outputs on device 100 that are capable of being sensed by a userof device 100. In some embodiments, at least one tactile outputgenerator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112) and, optionally, generates atactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g.,in/out of a surface of device 100) or laterally (e.g., back and forth inthe same plane as a surface of device 100). In some embodiments, atleast one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back ofdevice 100, opposite touch screen display 112, which is located on thefront of device 100.

Device 100 may also include one or more accelerometers 168. FIG. 1Ashows accelerometer 168 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, accelerometer 168 may be coupled to an input controller 160in I/O subsystem 106. Accelerometer 168 may perform as described in U.S.Patent Publication No. 20050190059, “Acceleration-based Theft DetectionSystem for Portable Electronic Devices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No.20060017692, “Methods And Apparatuses For Operating A Portable DeviceBased On An Accelerometer,” both of which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entirety. In some embodiments, information is displayedon the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view basedon an analysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers.Device 100 optionally includes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 168, amagnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other globalnavigation system) receiver (not shown) for obtaining informationconcerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) ofdevice 100.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102include operating system 126, communication module (or set ofinstructions) 128, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130,graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, text input module (or setof instructions) 134, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set ofinstructions) 135, and applications (or sets of instructions) 136.Furthermore, in some embodiments, memory 102 (FIG. 1A) or 370 (FIG. 3)stores device/global internal state 157, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 3.Device/global internal state 157 includes one or more of: activeapplication state, indicating which applications, if any, are currentlyactive; display state, indicating what applications, views or otherinformation occupy various regions of touch screen display 112; sensorstate, including information obtained from the device's various sensorsand input control devices 116; and location information concerning thedevice's location and/or attitude.

Operating system 126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between varioushardware and software components.

Communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 124 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 108 and/orexternal port 124. External port 124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices orindirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). Insome embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with, the30-pin connector used on iPod® (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects contact with touch screen112 (in conjunction with display controller 156) and othertouch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel).Contact/motion module 130 includes various software components forperforming various operations related to detection of contact, such asdetermining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-downevent), determining an intensity of the contact (e.g., the force orpressure of the contact or a substitute for the force or pressure of thecontact), determining if there is movement of the contact and trackingthe movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one ormore finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased(e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact).Contact/motion module 130 receives contact data from the touch-sensitivesurface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which isrepresented by a series of contact data, optionally includes determiningspeed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or anacceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point ofcontact. These operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts(e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g.,“multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments,contact/motion module 130 and display controller 156 detect contact on atouchpad.

In some embodiments, contact/motion module 130 uses a set of one or moreintensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has beenperformed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has “clicked” onan icon). In some embodiments, at least a subset of the intensitythresholds are determined in accordance with software parameters (e.g.,the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholdsof particular physical actuators and can be adjusted without changingthe physical hardware of device 100). For example, a mouse “click”threshold of a trackpad or touch screen display can be set to any of alarge range of predefined threshold values without changing the trackpador touch screen display hardware. Additionally, in some implementations,a user of the device is provided with software settings for adjustingone or more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjustingindividual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting a plurality ofintensity thresholds at once with a system-level click “intensity”parameter).

Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects a gesture input by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and/or intensities ofdetected contacts). Thus, a gesture is, optionally, detected bydetecting a particular contact pattern. For example, detecting a fingertap gesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detectinga finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially thesame position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of anicon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on thetouch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followedby detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequentlyfollowed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event.

Graphics module 132 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 112 or other display,including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness,transparency, saturation, contrast, or other visual property) ofgraphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics”includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including, withoutlimitation, text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objectsincluding soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 132 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic is, optionally, assigned acorresponding code. Graphics module 132 receives, from applicationsetc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with,if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and thengenerates screen image data to output to display controller 156.

Haptic feedback module 133 includes various software components forgenerating instructions used by tactile output generator(s) 167 toproduce tactile outputs at one or more locations on device 100 inresponse to user interactions with device 100.

Text input module 134, which may be a component of graphics module 132,provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications (e.g.,contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, browser 147, and any other applicationthat needs text input).

GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138 foruse in location-based dialing, to camera 143 as picture/video metadata,and to applications that provide location-based services such as weatherwidgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Applications 136 may include the following modules (or sets ofinstructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or contact        list);    -   Telephone module 138;    -   Video conferencing module 139;    -   E-mail client module 140;    -   Instant messaging (IM) module 141;    -   Workout support module 142;    -   Camera module 143 for still and/or video images;    -   Image management module 144;    -   Video player module;    -   Music player module;    -   Browser module 147;    -   Calendar module 148;    -   Widget modules 149, which may include one or more of: weather        widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3,        alarm clock widget 149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and other        widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created widgets        149-6;    -   Widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6;    -   Search module 151;    -   Video and music player module 152, which merges video player        module and music player module;    -   Notes module 153;    -   Map module 154; and/or    -   Online video module 155.

Examples of other applications 136 that may be stored in memory 102include other word processing applications, other image editingapplications, drawing applications, presentation applications,JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voicerecognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, contacts module 137 may be used to manage an address book orcontact list (e.g., stored in application internal state 192 of contactsmodule 137 in memory 102 or memory 370), including: adding name(s) tothe address book; deleting name(s) from the address book; associatingtelephone number(s), e-mail address(es), physical address(es) or otherinformation with a name; associating an image with a name; categorizingand sorting names; providing telephone numbers or e-mail addresses toinitiate and/or facilitate communications by telephone 138, videoconference module 139, e-mail 140, or IM 141; and so forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact/motionmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, telephonemodule 138 may be used to enter a sequence of characters correspondingto a telephone number, access one or more telephone numbers in contactsmodule 137, modify a telephone number that has been entered, dial arespective telephone number, conduct a conversation, and disconnect orhang up when the conversation is completed. As noted above, the wirelesscommunication may use any of a plurality of communications standards,protocols, and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor164, optical sensor controller 158, contact/motion module 130, graphicsmodule 132, text input module 134, contacts module 137, and telephonemodule 138, video conference module 139 includes executable instructionsto initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a userand one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, e-mail client module 140 includes executableinstructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response touser instructions. In conjunction with image management module 144,e-mail client module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mailswith still or video images taken with camera module 143.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, the instant messaging module 141 includes executableinstructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to aninstant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit arespective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service(SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-basedinstant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-basedinstant messages), to receive instant messages, and to view receivedinstant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or receivedinstant messages may include graphics, photos, audio files, video filesand/or other attachments as are supported in an MMS and/or an EnhancedMessaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging” refers toboth telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) andInternet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, orIMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, GPS module 135, map module 154, and music playermodule, workout support module 142 includes executable instructions tocreate workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burninggoals); communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receiveworkout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; selectand play music for a workout; and display, store, and transmit workoutdata.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, opticalsensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact/motion module 130,graphics module 132, and image management module 144, camera module 143includes executable instructions to capture still images or video(including a video stream) and store them into memory 102, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 102.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134,and camera module 143, image management module 144 includes executableinstructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate,label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), andstore still and/or video images.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, browser module 147 includes executable instructions tobrowse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, includingsearching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portionsthereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147,calendar module 148 includes executable instructions to create, display,modify, and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g.,calendar entries, to-do lists, etc.) in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, and browser module 147, widget modules 149 aremini-applications that may be downloaded and used by a user (e.g.,weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3,alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or created by theuser (e.g., user-created widget 149-6). In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (CascadingStyle Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file(e.g., Yahoo! Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150may be used by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning a user-specifiedportion of a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, search module 151 includes executable instructions to search fortext, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 102 thatmatch one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specifiedsearch terms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110,speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, video and musicplayer module 152 includes executable instructions that allow the userto download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored inone or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executableinstructions to display, present, or otherwise play back videos (e.g.,on touch screen 112 or on an external, connected display via externalport 124). In some embodiments, device 100 optionally includes thefunctionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of AppleInc.).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, notes module 153 includes executable instructions to create andmanage notes, to-do lists, and the like in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, map module 154may be used to receive, display, modify, and store maps and dataassociated with maps (e.g., driving directions, data on stores and otherpoints of interest at or near a particular location, and otherlocation-based data) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110,speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail clientmodule 140, and browser module 147, online video module 155 includesinstructions that allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., bystreaming and/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or onan external, connected display via external port 124), send an e-mailwith a link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage onlinevideos in one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments,instant messaging module 141, rather than e-mail client module 140, isused to send a link to a particular online video. Additional descriptionof the online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/936,562, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20,2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067, “PortableMultifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for PlayingOnline Videos,” filed Dec. 31, 2007, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

Each of the above-identified modules and applications corresponds to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (e.g., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules,and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwiserearranged in various embodiments. For example, video player module maybe combined with music player module into a single module (e.g., videoand music player module 152, FIG. 1A). In some embodiments, memory 102may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.Furthermore, memory 102 may store additional modules and data structuresnot described above.

In some embodiments, device 100 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device100, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons,dials, and the like) on device 100 may be reduced.

The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through atouch screen and/or a touchpad optionally include navigation betweenuser interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by theuser, navigates device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that is displayed on device 100. In such embodiments, a “menubutton” is implemented using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, themenu button is a physical push button or other physical input controldevice instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 102 (FIG. 1A) or 370 (FIG. 3) includes event sorter 170 (e.g., inoperating system 126) and a respective application 136-1 (e.g., any ofthe aforementioned applications 137-151, 155, 380-390).

Event sorter 170 receives event information and determines theapplication 136-1 and application view 191 of application 136-1 to whichto deliver the event information. Event sorter 170 includes eventmonitor 171 and event dispatcher module 174. In some embodiments,application 136-1 includes application internal state 192, whichindicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch-sensitivedisplay 112 when the application is active or executing. In someembodiments, device/global internal state 157 is used by event sorter170 to determine which application(s) is(are) currently active, andapplication internal state 192 is used by event sorter 170 to determineapplication views 191 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 192 includes additionalinformation, such as one or more of: resume information to be used whenapplication 136-1 resumes execution, user interface state informationthat indicates information being displayed or that is ready for displayby application 136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back toa prior state or view of application 136-1, and a redo/undo queue ofprevious actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 171 receives event information from peripherals interface118. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., auser touch on touch-sensitive display 112, as part of a multi-touchgesture). Peripherals interface 118 transmits information it receivesfrom I/O subsystem 106 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 166,accelerometer(s) 168, and/or microphone 113 (through audio circuitry110). Information that peripherals interface 118 receives from I/Osubsystem 106 includes information from touch-sensitive display 112 or atouch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 171 sends requests to the peripheralsinterface 118 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheralsinterface 118 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripherals interface 118 transmits event information only when there isa significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predeterminednoise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration). In someembodiments, event sorter 170 also includes a hit view determinationmodule 172 and/or an active event recognizer determination module 173.

Hit view determination module 172 provides software procedures fordetermining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more viewswhen touch-sensitive display 112 displays more than one view. Views aremade up of controls and other elements that a user can see on thedisplay.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is aset of views, sometimes herein called application views or userinterface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-basedgestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) inwhich a touch is detected may correspond to programmatic levels within aprogrammatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example, thelowest level view in which a touch is detected may be called the hitview, and the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs may bedetermined based, at least in part, on the hit view of the initial touchthat begins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 172 receives information related tosub-events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multipleviews organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 172identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which shouldhandle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowestlevel view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (e.g., the firstsub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potentialevent). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determinationmodule 172, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related tothe same touch or input source for which it was identified as the hitview.

Active event recognizer determination module 173 determines which viewor views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence ofsub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determinationmodule 173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particularsequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizerdetermination module 173 determines that all views that include thephysical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, andtherefore determines that all actively involved views should receive aparticular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touchsub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with oneparticular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain asactively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 174 dispatches the event information to an eventrecognizer (e.g., event recognizer 180). In embodiments including activeevent recognizer determination module 173, event dispatcher module 174delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined byactive event recognizer determination module 173. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module 174 stores in an event queue the eventinformation, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver 182.

In some embodiments, operating system 126 includes event sorter 170.Alternatively, application 136-1 includes event sorter 170. In yet otherembodiments, event sorter 170 is a stand-alone module, or a part ofanother module stored in memory 102, such as contact/motion module 130.

In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes a plurality of eventhandlers 190 and one or more application views 191, each of whichincludes instructions for handling touch events that occur within arespective view of the application's user interface. Each applicationview 191 of the application 136-1 includes one or more event recognizers180. Typically, a respective application view 191 includes a pluralityof event recognizers 180. In other embodiments, one or more of eventrecognizers 180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interfacekit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 136-1inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent handler 190 includes one or more of: data updater 176, objectupdater 177, GUI updater 178, and/or event data 179 received from eventsorter 170. Event handler 190 may utilize or call data updater 176,object updater 177, or GUI updater 178 to update the applicationinternal state 192. Alternatively, one or more of the application views191 include one or more respective event handlers 190. Also, in someembodiments, one or more of data updater 176, object updater 177, andGUI updater 178 are included in a respective application view 191.

A respective event recognizer 180 receives event information (e.g.,event data 179) from event sorter 170 and identifies an event from theevent information. Event recognizer 180 includes event receiver 182 andevent comparator 184. In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 alsoincludes at least a subset of: metadata 183, and event deliveryinstructions 188 (which may include sub-event delivery instructions).

Event receiver 182 receives event information from event sorter 170. Theevent information includes information about a sub-event, for example, atouch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the eventinformation also includes additional information, such as location ofthe sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch, the eventinformation may also include speed and direction of the sub-event. Insome embodiments, events include rotation of the device from oneorientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscapeorientation, or vice versa), and the event information includescorresponding information about the current orientation (also calleddevice attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 184 compares the event information to predefined eventor sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines anevent or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event orsub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 184 includes eventdefinitions 186. Event definitions 186 contain definitions of events(e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1(187-1), event 2 (187-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events inan event (187) include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touchmovement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, thedefinition for event 1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) onthe displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on thedisplayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition forevent 2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, forexample, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for apredetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and liftoff of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments,the event also includes information for one or more associated eventhandlers 190.

In some embodiments, event definition 186 includes a definition of anevent for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, eventcomparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interfaceobject is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an applicationview in which three user-interface objects are displayed ontouch-sensitive display 112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine whichof the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch(sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respectiveevent handler 190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit testto determine which event handler 190 should be activated. For example,event comparator 184 selects an event handler associated with thesub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event (187) alsoincludes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event informationuntil after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-eventsdoes or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 180 determines that the series ofsub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 186, therespective event recognizer 180 enters an event impossible, eventfailed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequentsub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other eventrecognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue totrack and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 includes metadata183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate howthe event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to activelyinvolved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includesconfigurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how eventrecognizers may interact, or are enabled to interact, with one another.In some embodiments, metadata 183 includes configurable properties,flags, and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered tovarying levels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 activates eventhandler 190 associated with an event when one or more particularsub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent recognizer 180 delivers event information associated with theevent to event handler 190. Activating an event handler 190 is distinctfrom sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 throws a flag associated withthe recognized event, and event handler 190 associated with the flagcatches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 188 include sub-eventdelivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-eventwithout activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event deliveryinstructions deliver event information to event handlers associated withthe series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlersassociated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved viewsreceive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 176 creates and updates data used inapplication 136-1. For example, data updater 176 updates the telephonenumber used in contacts module 137, or stores a video file used in videoplayer module. In some embodiments, object updater 177 creates andupdates objects used in application 136-1. For example, object updater177 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of auser-interface object. GUI updater 178 updates the GUI. For example, GUIupdater 178 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 190 includes or has access to dataupdater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178. In someembodiments, data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178are included in a single module of a respective application 136-1 orapplication view 191. In other embodiments, they are included in two ormore software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding eventhandling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies toother forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 100 withinput devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens. Forexample, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally coordinatedwith single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; contact movementssuch as taps, drags, scrolls, etc. on touchpads; pen stylus inputs;movement of the device; oral instructions; detected eye movements;biometric inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilizedas inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to berecognized.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touchscreen 112 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screenoptionally displays one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200.In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user is enabledto select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on thegraphics, for example, with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scalein the figure) or one or more styluses 203 (not drawn to scale in thefigure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurswhen the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In someembodiments, the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one ormore swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward),and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upwardand/or downward) that has made contact with device 100. In someimplementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a graphicdoes not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweepsover an application icon optionally does not select the correspondingapplication when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

Device 100 may also include one or more physical buttons, such as “home”or menu button 204. As described previously, menu button 204 may be usedto navigate to any application 136 in a set of applications that may beexecuted on device 100. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menubutton is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen112.

In some embodiments, device 100 includes touch screen 112, menu button204, push button 206 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 208, subscriber identity module(SIM) card slot 210, headset jack 212, and docking/charging externalport 124. Push button 206 is, optionally, used to turn the power on/offon the device by depressing the button and holding the button in thedepressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device bydepressing the button and releasing the button before the predefinedtime interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate anunlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device 100 also acceptsverbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions throughmicrophone 113. Device 100 also, optionally, includes one or morecontact intensity sensors 165 for detecting intensity of contacts ontouch screen 112 and/or one or more tactile output generators 167 forgenerating tactile outputs for a user of device 100.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments. Device 300 need not be portable. In some embodiments,device 300 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device(such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device(e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 300 typically includesone or more processing units (CPUs) 310, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 360, memory 370, and one or more communicationbuses 320 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 320optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) thatinterconnects and controls communications between system components.Device 300 includes input/output (I/O) interface 330 comprising display340, which is typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 330 alsooptionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device)350 and touchpad 355, tactile output generator 357 for generatingtactile outputs on device 300 (e.g., similar to tactile outputgenerator(s) 167 described above with reference to FIG. 1A), sensors 359(e.g., optical, acceleration, proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contactintensity sensors similar to contact intensity sensor(s) 165 describedabove with reference to FIG. 1A). Memory 370 includes high-speed randomaccess memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solidstate memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, suchas one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. Memory 370 optionally includes one or more storage devicesremotely located from CPU(s) 310. In some embodiments, memory 370 storesprograms, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs,modules, and data structures stored in memory 102 of portablemultifunction device 100 (FIG. 1A), or a subset thereof. Furthermore,memory 370 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and datastructures not present in memory 102 of portable multifunction device100. For example, memory 370 of device 300 optionally stores drawingmodule 380, presentation module 382, word processing module 384, websitecreation module 386, disk authoring module 388, and/or spreadsheetmodule 390, while memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG.1A) optionally does not store these modules.

Each of the above-identified elements in FIG. 3 may be stored in one ormore of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of theabove-identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions forperforming a function described above. The above-identified modules orprograms (e.g., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged invarious embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 370 may store a subsetof the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory370 may store additional modules and data structures not describedabove.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces thatmay be implemented on, for example, portable multifunction device 100.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on portable multifunction device 100 in accordance withsome embodiments. Similar user interfaces may be implemented on device300. In some embodiments, user interface 400 includes the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Signal strength indicator(s) 402 for wireless communication(s),        such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals;    -   Time 404;    -   Bluetooth indicator 405;    -   Battery status indicator 406;    -   Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Icon 416 for telephone module 138, labeled “Phone,” which            optionally includes an indicator 414 of the number of missed            calls or voicemail messages;        -   Icon 418 for e-mail client module 140, labeled “Mail,” which            optionally includes an indicator 410 of the number of unread            e-mails;        -   Icon 420 for browser module 147, labeled “Browser;” and        -   Icon 422 for video and music player module 152, also            referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 152,            labeled “iPod;” and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   Icon 424 for IM module 141, labeled “Messages;”        -   Icon 426 for calendar module 148, labeled “Calendar;”        -   Icon 428 for image management module 144, labeled “Photos;”        -   Icon 430 for camera module 143, labeled “Camera;”        -   Icon 432 for online video module 155, labeled “Online            Video;”        -   Icon 434 for stocks widget 149-2, labeled “Stocks;”        -   Icon 436 for map module 154, labeled “Maps;”        -   Icon 438 for weather widget 149-1, labeled “Weather;”        -   Icon 440 for alarm clock widget 149-4, labeled “Clock;”        -   Icon 442 for workout support module 142, labeled “Workout            Support;”        -   Icon 444 for notes module 153, labeled “Notes;” and        -   Icon 446 for a settings application or module, labeled            “Settings,” which provides access to settings for device 100            and its various applications 136.

It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in FIG. 4A aremerely exemplary. For example, icon 422 for video and music playermodule 152 may optionally be labeled “Music” or “Music Player.” Otherlabels are, optionally, used for various application icons. In someembodiments, a label for a respective application icon includes a nameof an application corresponding to the respective application icon. Insome embodiments, a label for a particular application icon is distinctfrom a name of an application corresponding to the particularapplication icon.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device (e.g.,device 300, FIG. 3) with a touch-sensitive surface 451 (e.g., a tabletor touchpad 355, FIG. 3) that is separate from the display 450 (e.g.,touch screen display 112). Device 300 also, optionally, includes one ormore contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors 357) fordetecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 451 and/orone or more tactile output generators 359 for generating tactile outputsfor a user of device 300.

Although some of the examples which follow will be given with referenceto inputs on touch screen display 112 (where the touch-sensitive surfaceand the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detectsinputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display,as shown in FIG. 4B. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface(e.g., 451 in FIG. 4B) has a primary axis (e.g., 452 in FIG. 4B) thatcorresponds to a primary axis (e.g., 453 in FIG. 4B) on the display(e.g., 450). In accordance with these embodiments, the device detectscontacts (e.g., 460 and 462 in FIG. 4B) with the touch-sensitive surface451 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display(e.g., in FIG. 4B, 460 corresponds to 468 and 462 corresponds to 470).In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 460 and 462, and movementsthereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,451 in FIG. 4B) are used by the device to manipulate the user interfaceon the display (e.g., 450 in FIG. 4B) of the multifunction device whenthe touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display. It should beunderstood that similar methods are, optionally, used for other userinterfaces described herein.

Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily withreference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures,finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that, in someembodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with inputfrom another input device (e.g., a mouse based input or stylus input).For example, a swipe gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click(e.g., instead of a contact) followed by movement of the cursor alongthe path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). Asanother example, a tap gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouseclick while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture(e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to detectthe contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are simultaneouslydetected, it should be understood that multiple computer mice are,optionally, used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts are,optionally, used simultaneously.

As used here, the term “affordance” refers to a user-interactivegraphical user interface object that may be displayed on the displayscreen of devices 100, 300, and/or 500 (FIGS. 1, 3, and 5). For example,an image (e.g., icon), a button, and text (e.g., hyperlink) may eachconstitute an affordance.

As used herein, the term “focus selector” refers to an input elementthat indicates a current part of a user interface with which a user isinteracting. In some implementations that include a cursor or otherlocation marker, the cursor acts as a “focus selector” so that when aninput (e.g., a press input) is detected on a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touchpad 355 in FIG. 3 or touch-sensitive surface 451 in FIG. 4B)while the cursor is over a particular user interface element (e.g., abutton, window, slider or other user interface element), the particularuser interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detectedinput. In some implementations that include a touch screen display(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112 in FIG. 1A or touch screen 112in FIG. 4A) that enables direct interaction with user interface elementson the touch screen display, a detected contact on the touch screen actsas a “focus selector” so that when an input (e.g., a press input by thecontact) is detected on the touch screen display at a location of aparticular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, orother user interface element), the particular user interface element isadjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementations,focus is moved from one region of a user interface to another region ofthe user interface without corresponding movement of a cursor ormovement of a contact on a touch screen display (e.g., by using a tabkey or arrow keys to move focus from one button to another button); inthese implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance withmovement of focus between different regions of the user interface.Without regard to the specific form taken by the focus selector, thefocus selector is generally the user interface element (or contact on atouch screen display) that is controlled by the user so as tocommunicate the user's intended interaction with the user interface(e.g., by indicating, to the device, the element of the user interfacewith which the user is intending to interact). For example, the locationof a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, a contact, or a selection box) overa respective button while a press input is detected on thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touch screen) will indicatethat the user is intending to activate the respective button (as opposedto other user interface elements shown on a display of the device).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “characteristicintensity” of a contact refers to a characteristic of the contact basedon one or more intensities of the contact. In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is based on multiple intensity samples. Thecharacteristic intensity is, optionally, based on a predefined number ofintensity samples, or a set of intensity samples collected during apredetermined time period (e.g., 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10seconds) relative to a predefined event (e.g., after detecting thecontact, prior to detecting liftoff of the contact, before or afterdetecting a start of movement of the contact, prior to detecting an endof the contact, before or after detecting an increase in intensity ofthe contact, and/or before or after detecting a decrease in intensity ofthe contact). A characteristic intensity of a contact is, optionallybased on one or more of: a maximum value of the intensities of thecontact, a mean value of the intensities of the contact, an averagevalue of the intensities of the contact, a top 10 percentile value ofthe intensities of the contact, a value at the half maximum of theintensities of the contact, a value at the 90 percent maximum of theintensities of the contact, or the like. In some embodiments, theduration of the contact is used in determining the characteristicintensity (e.g., when the characteristic intensity is an average of theintensity of the contact over time). In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensitythresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by auser. For example, the set of one or more intensity thresholds mayinclude a first intensity threshold and a second intensity threshold. Inthis example, a contact with a characteristic intensity that does notexceed the first threshold results in a first operation, a contact witha characteristic intensity that exceeds the first intensity thresholdand does not exceed the second intensity threshold results in a secondoperation, and a contact with a characteristic intensity that exceedsthe second threshold results in a third operation. In some embodiments,a comparison between the characteristic intensity and one or morethresholds is used to determine whether or not to perform one or moreoperations (e.g., whether to perform a respective operation or forgoperforming the respective operation) rather than being used to determinewhether to perform a first operation or a second operation.

In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified for purposesof determining a characteristic intensity. For example, atouch-sensitive surface may receive a continuous swipe contacttransitioning from a start location and reaching an end location, atwhich point the intensity of the contact increases. In this example, thecharacteristic intensity of the contact at the end location may be basedon only a portion of the continuous swipe contact, and not the entireswipe contact (e.g., only the portion of the swipe contact at the endlocation). In some embodiments, a smoothing algorithm may be applied tothe intensities of the swipe contact prior to determining thecharacteristic intensity of the contact. For example, the smoothingalgorithm optionally includes one or more of: an unweightedsliding-average smoothing algorithm, a triangular smoothing algorithm, amedian filter smoothing algorithm, and/or an exponential smoothingalgorithm. In some circumstances, these smoothing algorithms eliminatenarrow spikes or dips in the intensities of the swipe contact forpurposes of determining a characteristic intensity.

The intensity of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface may becharacterized relative to one or more intensity thresholds, such as acontact-detection intensity threshold, a light press intensitythreshold, a deep press intensity threshold, and/or one or more otherintensity thresholds. In some embodiments, the light press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations typically associated with clicking a button of a physicalmouse or a trackpad. In some embodiments, the deep press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations that are different from operations typically associated withclicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In someembodiments, when a contact is detected with a characteristic intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominalcontact-detection intensity threshold below which the contact is nolonger detected), the device will move a focus selector in accordancewith movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface withoutperforming an operation associated with the light press intensitythreshold or the deep press intensity threshold. Generally, unlessotherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are consistent betweendifferent sets of user interface figures.

An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold to an intensity between thelight press intensity threshold and the deep press intensity thresholdis sometimes referred to as a “light press” input. An increase ofcharacteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the deeppress intensity threshold to an intensity above the deep press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as a “deep press” input. An increaseof characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below thecontact-detection intensity threshold to an intensity between thecontact-detection intensity threshold and the light press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as detecting the contact on thetouch-surface. A decrease of characteristic intensity of the contactfrom an intensity above the contact-detection intensity threshold to anintensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold is sometimesreferred to as detecting liftoff of the contact from the touch-surface.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold is zero.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold isgreater than zero.

In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations areperformed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a respectivepress input or in response to detecting the respective press inputperformed with a respective contact (or a plurality of contacts), wherethe respective press input is detected based at least in part ondetecting an increase in intensity of the contact (or plurality ofcontacts) above a press-input intensity threshold. In some embodiments,the respective operation is performed in response to detecting theincrease in intensity of the respective contact above the press-inputintensity threshold (e.g., a “down stroke” of the respective pressinput). In some embodiments, the press input includes an increase inintensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensitythreshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact belowthe press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation isperformed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensityof the respective contact below the press-input threshold (e.g., an “upstroke” of the respective press input).

In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoidaccidental inputs sometimes termed “jitter,” where the device defines orselects a hysteresis intensity threshold with a predefined relationshipto the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., the hysteresis intensitythreshold is X intensity units lower than the press-input intensitythreshold or the hysteresis intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or somereasonable proportion of the press-input intensity threshold). Thus, insome embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity ofthe respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and asubsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresisintensity threshold that corresponds to the press-input intensitythreshold, and the respective operation is performed in response todetecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contactbelow the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an “up stroke” of therespective press input). Similarly, in some embodiments, the press inputis detected only when the device detects an increase in intensity of thecontact from an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity thresholdto an intensity at or above the press-input intensity threshold and,optionally, a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact to anintensity at or below the hysteresis intensity, and the respectiveoperation is performed in response to detecting the press input (e.g.,the increase in intensity of the contact or the decrease in intensity ofthe contact, depending on the circumstances).

For ease of explanation, the descriptions of operations performed inresponse to a press input associated with a press-input intensitythreshold or in response to a gesture including the press input are,optionally, triggered in response to detecting either: an increase inintensity of a contact above the press-input intensity threshold, anincrease in intensity of a contact from an intensity below thehysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity above the press-inputintensity threshold, a decrease in intensity of the contact below thepress-input intensity threshold, and/or a decrease in intensity of thecontact below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to thepress-input intensity threshold. Additionally, in examples where anoperation is described as being performed in response to detecting adecrease in intensity of a contact below the press-input intensitythreshold, the operation is, optionally, performed in response todetecting a decrease in intensity of the contact below a hysteresisintensity threshold corresponding to, and lower than, the press-inputintensity threshold.

2. Structured Suggestions

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device canstructure suggested contacts and calendar events for users from theirmessages. The suggested contacts and calendar events can be searchableas if they were manually entered by the user, and the user can choose toadd or ignore (e.g., reject) the suggested contacts and calendar events.In this manner, a user's contacts and calendar events can be maintainedwith no or minimal effort on the user's part, which can save the usertime, enhance productivity and produce a more efficient human-machineinterface.

2.1 Suggested Contact Information

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary data architecture 502A for suggestedcontacts in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 5A,electronic device 500 can associate (e.g., store) contact information520A from message 510 with a corresponding contact 530A. Message 510 caninclude any type of message that can be sent or received by the user ofdevice 500, such as an email, instant message, messaging via anapplication on device 500, etc., and can include any attachment tomessage 510.

Contact information 520A can include information typically associatedwith a contact entry in an address book database, such as name, phonenumber, address, business or social networking handle, etc., of anentity. Contact entries are typically organized or indexed by theentity, which can include an individual, group, organization, company,etc. Contact information 520A can be stored in any suitable format thatapplications, such as contacts module 137, can recognize in order toprocess contact information 520A. Contact information 520 can also beformatted according to standard protocols, such as the CardDAV protocol,to allow for updating or synchronization over a network with otherclients.

In some embodiments, the identified contact information 520A can beassociated with contact 530A in any one of three mutually exclusivestates—suggested state 540, added state 550 and rejected state 560.Suggested state 540 can reflect a state in which the user has not yetconfirmed or approved the addition of contact information 520A to acontact. Added state 550 can reflect a state in which the user hasconfirmed or approved the addition of contact information 520A to acontact. Rejected state 560 can reflect a state in which the user hasrejected the addition of contact information 520A to a contact. Contact530A can also be associated with any one of these three states when allassociated contact information belongs to the same state.

In some embodiments, added state 550 can be treated by device 500 as adefault state, meaning that no additional data is required to beassociated with such contacts to indicate that they are in added state550. For example, user added contacts on device 500 can be defaulted toadded state 550.

In embodiments in which added state 550 is treated as the default state,device 500 can associate data with contact information 520A to indicatethat contact information 520A belongs to either suggested state 540 orrejected state 560. This data can take any suitable form, such asmetadata, which can be used by applications processing contactinformation 520A to recognize that contact information 520A is in eithersuggested state 540 or rejected state 560. Device 500 can also associatedata with contact 530A to indicate that contact 530A and all associatedcontact information belong to either suggested state 540 or rejectedstate 560.

By storing contact information 520A in suggested state 540, device 500(e.g., via an application running on device 500) can include thesuggested contact information in searches of contacts. To avoid userconfusion, device 500 can also indicate to the user that contactinformation 520A is in suggested state 540 by providing a visualindication (e.g., via labeling or highlighting) and/or preventing a userfrom directly acting on contact information 520A (e.g., by requiring theuser to provide an additional input before allowing the user to act oncontact information 520A). Input can refer to any suitable manner ininput, such as touch, mouse, speech, etc.

By storing contact information 520A in rejected state 560, device 500can remember previously suggested contact information that the user hadrejected so as not to suggest it again to the user. Contact information520A in rejected state 560 can be ignored by applications that processcontact information in added state 550 and suggested state 540.

Device 500 can store contact information 520A locally on device 500, andrefrain from synchronizing contact information 520A to remote databasesuntil contact information 520A is changed from suggested state 540 toadded state 550. In other embodiments, contact information 520A can beupdated to remote databases while in suggested state 540.

Device 500 can identify contact information 520A from structured orunstructured content in message 510. Structured content refers tocontent with formal organization or structure arranged according to apredefined format, such as automated e-mails provided by online travelagencies that lay out flight, hotel and/or car reservation informationin the same predefined way (e.g., using the same HTML structure). Insome embodiments, to identify contact information 520A from structuredcontent, device 500 can use templates configured to recognize contactinformation in the particular format provided by such messages. In someembodiments, device 500 can add and/or update these templates over anetwork.

Unstructured content refers to content without formal organization orstructure, such as natural language content (e.g., someone says in amessage that they have a new number) and email signatures. To identifycontact information 520A from unstructured content, device 500 can usedata detectors that are configured to identify predefined references tocontact information, such as particular phrases like “I got a newnumber, it's <number>.” Device 500 can also add and/or update these datadetectors over a network. Device 500 can improve the predefinedreferences relied on by the data detectors by cross-correlating contactinformation on device 500 (e.g., in an address book database) withlanguage associated with that contact information on device 500 (e.g.,in messages). The correlated language can then be used to refine thepredefined references for subsequent use. The message content analyzedby device 500 can include any information that is recognizable by device500, including message metadata.

In some embodiments, the device receives an instruction (e.g., a userrequest) to initiate a communication (e.g., a phone call, instantmessage, email) with a contact (e.g., an individual or a business). Thedevice determines that the contact is not in the device's address book.In response, the device locates contact information (e.g., a phonenumber, a username, an email address) based on one or morecommunications (e.g., instant messages, emails, calendar entries). Inother words, the device searches through a database of potentialcontacts to disambiguate the requested contact referenced in theinstruction. Optionally, the device presents a ranked list ofpotentially matching contacts and receives user input selecting theintended contact. In response to the user input selecting the intendedcontact, the device may initiate the communication (e.g., a phone call,instant message, email) with the intended contact.

2.2 Suggested Event Information

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary data architecture 502B for suggestedcalendar events in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in FIG.5B, electronic device 500 can associate (e.g., store) event information520B from message 510 with a corresponding calendar event 530B. Message510 can include any type of message that can be sent or received by theuser of device 500, such as an email, instant message, messaging via anapplication on the device, etc., and can include any attachment to themessage.

Event information 520B can include information typically associated witha calendar entry in a calendar database, such as time, date, location,etc. Event information 520B can be stored in any suitable format thatapplications, such as calendar module 148, can recognize in order toprocess event information 520B. Event information 520B can also beformatted according to standard protocols, such as the CalDAV protocol,to allow for updating or synchronization over a network with otherclients.

In some embodiments, the identified event information 520B can beassociated with calendar event 530B in any one of three mutuallyexclusive states—suggested state 540, added state 550 and rejected state560. Suggested state 540 can reflect a state in which the user has notyet confirmed or approved the addition of event information 520B to acalendar event. Added state 550 can reflect a state in which the userhas confirmed or approved the addition of event information 520B to acalendar event. Rejected state 560 can reflect a state in which the userhas rejected the addition of event information 520B to a calendar event.Calendar event 530B can also be associated with any one of these threestates when all associated calendar event information belongs to thesame state.

In some embodiments, added state 550 can be treated by device 500 as adefault state, meaning that no additional data is required to beassociated with such calendar events to indicate that they are in addedstate 550. For example, user added calendar events on device 500 can bedefaulted to added state 550.

In embodiments in which added state 550 is treated as the default state,device 500 can associate data with event information 520B to indicatethat event information 520B belongs to either suggested state 540 orrejected state 560. This data can take any suitable form, such asmetadata, which can be used by applications processing event information520B to recognize that event information 520B is in either suggestedstate 540 or rejected state 560. Device 500 can also associate data withcalendar event 530B to indicate that calendar event 530B and allassociated event information belong to either suggested state 540 orrejected state 560.

By storing event information 520B in suggested state 540, device 500(e.g., via an application running on device 500) can include thesuggested event information in searches of calendar events. To avoiduser confusion, device 500 can also indicate to the user that eventinformation 520B is in suggested state 540 by providing a visualindication (e.g., via labeling or highlighting) and/or preventing a userfrom directly acting on event information 520B (e.g., by requiring theuser to provide an additional input before allowing the user to act onevent information 520B). Input can refer to any suitable manner ininput, such as touch, mouse, speech, etc.

By storing event information 520B in rejected state 560, device 500 canremember previously suggested event information that the user hadrejected so as not to suggest it again to the user. Event information520B in rejected state 560 can be ignored by applications that processevent information in added state 550 and suggested state 540.

Device 500 can store event information 520B locally on device 500, andrefrain from synchronizing event information 520B to remote databasesuntil event information 520B is changed from suggested state 540 toadded state 550. In other embodiments, event information 520B can beupdated to remote databases while in suggested state 540.

Device 500 can identify event information 520B from structured orunstructured content in message 510. Structured content refers tocontent with formal organization or structure arranged according to apredefined format, such as automated e-mails provided by online travelagencies that lay out flight, hotel and/or car reservation informationin the same predefined way (e.g., using the same HTML structure). Insome embodiments, to identify event information 520B from structuredcontent, device 500 can use templates configured to recognize eventinformation in the particular format provided by such messages. In someembodiments, device 500 can add and/or update these templates over anetwork.

Unstructured content refers to content without formal organization orstructure, such as natural language content (e.g., someone says in amessage that they'll meet you somewhere at a particular time) and emailsignatures. To identify event information 520B from unstructuredcontent, device 500 can use data detectors that are configured toidentify predefined references to event information, such as particularphrases like “meet me at <address> at <time>.” Device 500 can also addand/or update these data detectors over a network. Device 500 canimprove the predefined references relied on by the data detectors bycross-correlating event information on device 500 (e.g., in a calendardatabase) with language associated with that event information on device500 (e.g., in messages). The correlated language can then be used torefine the predefined references for subsequent use. The message contentanalyzed by device 500 can include any information that is recognizableby device 500, including message metadata.

In some examples, the device identifies one or more communications(e.g., email or other content) associated with a calendar event (e.g., auser-added calendar event or a received meeting invite accepted by theuser). For example, the device may determine that a communication isassociated with a calendar event when the communication describes anevent of the same or similar name, an event of the same or similarday/time and/or duration, and/or an event of the same location. Foranother example, the device may determine that a communication isassociated with a calendar event based on the calendar event includingthe same or similar language used in the communication. The one or morecommunications and the associated calendar event are analyzed and/orcompared to better identify candidate communications for which a futurecalendar entry should be created or suggested. For example, a machinelearning technique can be employed to learn patterns of event creationby training from/analyzing emails on which events are based (usingsupport vector machine and a corpus of emails that were used to createcalendar events).

For example, the device may receive an email communication from an autoparts shop that includes the language “Hi, Can you swing by the partsshop tomorrow to get the replacement part?” The email may also includean email signature that includes the street address of the parts shop.The user may then manually create a calendar event, including thelanguage “swing by the parts shop to get the replacement part”. Thecalendar event may also include the street address of the parts shop asthe location of the calendar event. Based on the email communication andthe calendar event, the device may use machine learning to determinethat this type of email communication warrants a suggestion for acalendar entry. The determination may be based on: the similaritybetween the “swing by the parts shop to get the replacement part” in theemail communication and the calendar event, the similarity between thestreet address in the email communication and the calendar event, asimilarity in the day/time identified in the email communication and thecalendar event, or a combination of two or more of the these.

In some examples, the device identifies event information from (e.g.,during) an instant message conversation (e.g., an SMS or text messageconversation). During the conversation, the device collects informationrelevant to an event. After a relevant portion of the conversation(e.g., after a predetermined set of information has been collected), thedevice produces a suggested calendar event. In some examples, thesuggested calendar event is updated based on messages in theconversation sent or received after the initial suggested calendar eventis produced. This conversational event creation technique allows usersto quickly and efficiently add events to their calendars based onmessages in an instant message conversation.

For example, the device may be displaying an instant messageconversation between the device's user and a representative from an autoparts shop. The conversation may include a message from therepresentative include the language “Hi, Can you swing by the parts shoptomorrow to get the replacement part?” The conversation may also includea message from the representative that includes the street address ofthe parts shop. The user may respond “yes, I'll be there!” In responseto a relevant portion of the conversation (e.g., the confirmation ofattendance “yes, I'll be there!”; or receiving the time “tomorrow” andthe location (street address)), the device produces a suggested calendarevent. The device may update the suggested calendar event if the devicesubsequently receives a message from the representative that indicatesan updated time (e.g., “Actually, tomorrow won't work, but this Fridaywill work.”), location, or other event component.

It should be recognized that exemplary data architectures 520A and 520Bcan be the same or different. For example, a single data architecturecan be used for suggested contacts as for suggested calendar events.Alternatively, one data architecture can be used for suggested contacts,while another, different data architecture can be used for suggestedcalendar events.

It should also be recognized that message 510 can be processed for onlysuggested contacts, only suggested calendar events, or both suggestedcontacts and suggested calendar events. When processed for bothsuggested contacts and suggested calendar events, message 510 can beprocessed for suggested contacts and suggested calendar events in seriesor parallel. For example, message 510 can be first processed forsuggested contacts, and then processed for suggested calendar events.Alternatively, message 510 and a copy of message 510 can be processedfor suggested contacts and suggested calendar events in parallel.

In some examples, a notification or reminder may be presented to theuser (e.g., through a visual notification, a haptic notification, anaudio notification, or a combination of one or more notifications ondevice 500) based on event information identified from structured orunstructured content in a message or other media. In some examples, thenotification or reminder may be presented to the user even though theevent information is not associated with the added state. For example,the device may remind a user to pack a suitcase based on an emailreceived about an upcoming camping trip, even though the camping triphas not been added to the user's calendar. Thus, reminders may bepresented for calendar entries, events, and the like that are in asuggested state (e.g., not explicitly accepted or declined).

3. User Interfaces and Associated Processes

FIGS. 6A-13 depict embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”) and associatedprocesses that may be implemented on device 500. In some embodiments,device 500 corresponds to devices 100 or 300.

FIGS. 6A and 6G illustrate exemplary user interfaces for providingsuggested contacts and calendar events in accordance with someembodiments.

In particular, FIG. 6A shows the display, by contacts module 137 forexample, of a user interface corresponding to a contact with suggestedcontact information (i.e., contact information in suggested state 540),for example, after processing a message as described above. In thisexample, the contact is associated with an individual named JohnAppleseed and includes a company name (“Any Company Inc.”), work number(“405-555-1234”) and a mobile number (“405-123-6633”). The company nameand work number are confirmed items of contact information and belong toadded state 550. The mobile number is a suggested item of contactinformation and belongs to suggested state 540.

Device 500 can provide user interface object 600 (e.g., the word“suggestion”) in the user interface to indicate to the user that themobile number is a suggested item of contact information and not onethat has been confirmed by the user. Any suitable user interface objectcan be used for this purpose, including a label, icon, or other visualindication that the mobile number is a suggested item of contactinformation. When the same contact includes items of contact informationin suggested state 540 and items of contact information in added state550, as in the case in FIG. 6A, device 500 can display the items insuggested state 540 below, or in a position of lesser priority to, allitems in added state 550.

Device 500 can also prevent the user from directly invoking anapplication (e.g., telephone module 138) to call John Appleseed at thesuggested number from this initial user interface. For example, device500 can provide the text and/or region associated with the suggestednumber with a different visual appearance than that of confirmed itemsof contact information, such as a grayed out appearance (not shown), toindicate that a selection of the suggested number by the user will notdirectly call the number. Rather, upon selecting the suggested number bythe user, device 500 can replace the current user interface with asecond user interface through which the user can review and call thesuggested number.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the second user interface (labeled “ReviewSuggestion”) includes suggestion portion 606 in the form of a bannerthat includes user interface object 602 (labeled “Add to Contact”)associated with the suggested number. Selecting user interface object602 by the user can cause device 500 to add the suggested number to thecontact in added state 550 (e.g., change the state of the suggestednumber from suggested state 540 to added state 550). Upon selection ofthe mobile number or similar indication, such as the telephone icondisplayed next to the mobile number, by the user in this subsequent userinterface, device 500 can invoke an application (e.g., telephone module138) to call John Appleseed at the suggested number. In someembodiments, device 500 can retain the mobile number in suggested state540 if the user does not select user interface object 602 but doesselect the mobile number or similar indication (e.g., a user calling thesuggested number is not treated as an implicit approval of the suggestednumber for the contact). In other embodiments, device 500 can change thestate of the mobile number to added state 550 upon the user selectingthe mobile number, even if the user had not selected user interfaceobject 602 (e.g., a user calling the suggested number is treated as animplicit approval of the suggested number for the contact).

The second user interface in FIG. 6B also includes user interface object604 (labeled “Ignore”) associated with the suggested number. Selectionof user interface object 604 by the user can cause device 500 to ceasedisplaying user interface object 602, which removes the option of addingto the number to the contact. Upon selecting user interface object 604,device 500 can change the state of the suggested number from suggestedstate 540 to rejected state 560. In rejected state 560, device 500 canbe configured to no longer display or suggest the suggested number inassociation with this contact.

Additionally, the second user interface in FIG. 6B includes messageportion 608 (labeled as “Related email”) that includes a portion of themessage from which the suggested number was identified by device 500.Thus, in providing an interface for reviewing suggested contactinformation, the user interface of FIG. 6B can provide the user withmessage context associated with the suggested contact information. Asshown in FIG. 6B, device 500 can display a limited section of the e-mailrelating to the portion with the mobile number. Upon the user selectingthe displayed portion of the message, device 500 can cause a messageapplication (e.g., E-mail Client Module 140) to open the entire e-mailfor the user. In some embodiments, the entire e-mail can be displayedwith the suggested contact information in a user interface correspondingto that shown in FIG. 6D.

FIG. 6C shows a user interface that is displayed in response to the userselecting the “Edit” user interface object in FIG. 6A. In this edit userinterface, the user can also directly call the suggested number,represented by user interface object 610, which is highlighted (i.e., inbold) to indicate that the number is in suggested state 540. Anysuitable visual indication can be used to indicate that user interfaceobject 610 is in suggested state 540.

FIG. 6D shows a screen that a user can view upon opening a message ondevice 500 (e.g., an e-mail displayed by E-mail Client Module 140) withdevice 500 having identified suggested contact information in themessage. The user interface of FIG. 6D includes suggestion portion 612and message portion 614. Message portion 614 includes the content of themessage as received by device 500. Suggestion portion 612 includes auser interface object corresponding to the identified entity (“JohnAppleseed”), a user interface object corresponding to the identifiedcontact information (“405-123-6633”) and user interface object 618(labeled “Add to Contacts”) associated with the identified contactinformation that, when selected, causes the device to add the suggestednumber to the contact in added state 550. Suggestion portion 612includes user interface object 620 (labeled “Ignore”) associated withthe identified contact information that, upon selection, causes device500 to change the state of the identified contact information fromsuggested state 540 to rejected state 560. In rejected state 560, device500 can be configured to no longer display or suggest the suggestedcontact information in association with this contact. Selectingidentified contact information 616 of suggestion portion 612 above the“Ignore” and “Add to Contacts” tile can bring up a user interfacecorresponding to the contact associated with the identified entity. Forexample, device 500 can present the contact information for “JohnAppleseed” in a user interface corresponding to that shown in FIG. 6A inthis embodiment.

FIG. 6E shows a screen that a user can view upon opening a message ondevice 500 (e.g., an e-mail displayed by E-mail Client Module 140) withdevice 500 having identified suggested event information in the message.The user interface of FIG. 6E includes suggestion portion 620 andmessage portion 622. Message portion 622 includes the content of themessage as received by device 500. Suggestion portion 620 includes auser interface object corresponding to the identified event information(“Dinner”, “Any Sushi Bar”, “Fri, March 7th”, or “9:50 PM”) and userinterface object 626 (labeled “Add to Calendar”) associated with theidentified event information that, when selected, causes device 500 toadd the suggested event information to a calendar event in added state550. Suggestion portion 620 includes user interface object 628 (labeled“Ignore”) that, upon selection, causes device 500 to change the state ofthe identified event information from suggested state 540 to rejectedstate 560. In rejected state 560, device 500 can be configured to nolonger display or suggest the suggested event information in associationwith this calendar event. Selecting identified event information 624 ofsuggestion portion 620 above the “Ignore” and “Add to Calendar” tile canbring up a user interface (not shown) corresponding to a calendar eventassociated with the identified event information (e.g., displayed bycontacts module 137 for example), through which the user can select auser interface object to add the suggested event information to acalendar event in added state 550.

FIG. 6F shows a screen that a user can view upon opening a message ondevice 500 (e.g., an e-mail displayed by E-mail Client Module 140) withdevice 500 having identified multiple suggested contacts and/or calendarevents in the message. The user interface of FIG. 6F includes suggestionportion 630 and message portion 632. Message portion 632 includes thecontent of the message as received by device 500. Suggestion portion 630further includes a user selectable region that, when selected, causesdevice 500 to display a subsequent user interface having a list of themultiple instances of identified contact or event information as shownin FIG. 6G. Confining suggestion portion 630 of FIG. 6F to a singlebanner rather than incorporating all of the suggestions of FIG. 6G intothe user interface of FIG. 6F prevents the suggestion portion of FIG. 6Ffrom interfering with the user's ability to view and read the message inthe message portion with ease.

FIG. 6G shows the subsequent user interface having the list of suggestedcontact and event information identified in the message associated withthe user interface of FIG. 6F. As shown in FIG. 6G, the suggestions areorganized by type (e.g., suggested calendar events are grouped togetherand suggested contacts are grouped together) and each suggestionincludes the “Ignore” and “Add to Contact” and “Add to Calendar”functionality described above. The user interface of FIG. 6G alsoincludes user interface object 634 (“Add All”) that, when selected,causes device 500 to add each of a grouping of the multiple instances ofidentified contact or event information (e.g., the two suggestedcalendar events shown in FIG. 6G) to a corresponding contact or calendarevent in added state 550.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process forgenerating a suggested contact in accordance with some embodiments. Theprocess can be performed at an electronic device (e.g., device 500).

The electronic device can receive (702) a message (e.g., FIG. 6D, emailin message portion 614) and identify (704), in the received message, anentity (e.g., FIG. 6D, “John Appleseed”) and contact information (e.g.,FIG. 6D, “405-123-6633”) associated with the entity. The device candetermine (722) that a contact (e.g., FIG. 5A, contact 530A) associatedwith the identified entity does not exist among a plurality of contactsin a database (e.g., storage on device 500, such as an address bookdatabase), and in response to this determination (724), the device cangenerate a contact associated with the entity, the generated contactincluding the contact information and an indication (e.g., metadata)that the generated contact is a suggested contact (e.g., in suggestedstate 540). It is noted that when the device generates the “JohnAppleseed” contact as a suggested contact, each item of contactinformation in the contact can be indicated as a suggested item ofcontact information and stored in suggested state 540 or the entirecontact as a whole can be indicated as a suggested contact and stored insuggested state 540. It is also noted that any message resident on thedevice can be analyzed using the disclosed process, such as incoming andoutgoing messages.

In some embodiments, the identified entity is (706) a name and theidentified contact information is a phone number, address, business orsocial networking handle.

In some embodiments, the device can identify unstructured content in themessage by recognizing signature blocks in the message. For example, toidentify the entity and associated contact information in the message,the device can identify (708) a signature block of the message andanalyze the identified signature block for the entity and the contactinformation. The message can include (710) an email and the signatureblock can be an e-mail signature. The email can include (712) one ormore prior emails in an email thread, and the identifying of the e-mailsignature can include analyzing the one or more prior emails in theemail thread. By unrolling the quoting layers of the e-mail the devicecan avoid misassociating contact information location in differente-mails in an e-mail thread.

In some embodiments, the device can identify unstructured content in themessage by searching for definitive phrases with data detectors. Forexample, to identify the entity and associated contact information inthe message, the device can identify (714) in the message one or morephrases based on a collection of predefined phrases, and analyze the oneor more identified phrases for the entity and the contact information.The device can update (716) the collection of predefined phrases over anetwork, which can allow the device to continue to use accurate phrases.The device can also downgrade (718) one or more of the predefinedphrases as a result of a request to reject the suggested contact. Inother words, if users continue to reject suggestions identified throughthe use of particular phrases, that can be an indication that thosephrases are inaccurate. The device can also generate (720) one or moreof the predefined phrases by cross-correlating contact information inthe database with language associated with contact information on theelectronic device (such as messages, calendar events, etc.) In thismanner the device can determine what exact language in a message withcontact information, for example, led a user to create or update acontact with the contact information.

In some embodiments, the suggested contact can be searchable in view ofthe data architecture of FIG. 5A. For example, the device can receive(726) a request for a contact (e.g., by a user searching for a contactvia an application on the device) and, in response to the request for acontact, search the suggested contact.

In some embodiments, the device can (728), in response to the generationof the contact, refrain from storing the suggested contact in a remotedatabase over a network. For example, if the suggested contact is insuggested state 540, the device can refrain from pushing the contact toan updating or synchronization service (e.g., an application on thedevice) that allows contacts to be updated on multiple clients over anetwork.

In some embodiments, the device can (730) receive a request to add thesuggested contact (e.g., FIG. 6D, “Add to Contacts” 618) to the databaseand in response to the request, store the generated contact, without theindication that the generated contact is a suggested contact (e.g.,change the state of the contact from suggested state 540 to added state550), in the database. In response to the request to add the suggestedcontact to the database, the device can store (732) the generatedcontact, without the indication that the generated contact is asuggested contact, in a remote database over a network by, for example,pushing the contact to an updating or synchronization service.

In some embodiments, the device can (734) receive a request to rejectthe suggested contact (e.g., FIG. 6D, “Ignore” 620) and, in response tothe request, reject the suggested contact, preventing the suggestedcontact from being generated in the future as a result of the entity andthe contact information being identified in a future message. This canbe implemented by storing rejected contacts in rejected state 560, sothat the device can know what has already been rejected.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process forupdating an existing contact with a suggested item of contactinformation in accordance with some embodiments. The process can beperformed at an electronic device (e.g., device 500).

The electronic device can receive (802) a message (e.g., FIG. 6D, emailin message portion 614) and identify (804), in the received message, anentity (e.g., FIG. 6D, “John Appleseed”) and an item of contactinformation (e.g., FIG. 6D, “405-123-6633”) associated with the entity.The device can determine (822) that a contact (e.g., FIG. 5A, contact530A) associated with the identified entity exists among a plurality ofcontacts in a database and that the contact does not include theidentified item of contact information. In response to thisdetermination (824), the device can update the contact to include theitem of contact information and an indication (e.g., metadata) that theitem of contact information is a suggested item of contact information(e.g., in suggested state 540). It is also noted that any messageresident on the device can be analyzed using the disclosed process, suchas incoming and outgoing messages.

In some embodiments, the identified entity is (806) a name and theidentified item of contact information is a phone number, address,business or social networking handle.

In some embodiments, the device can identify unstructured content in themessage by recognizing signatures in the message. For example, toidentify the entity and associated item of contact information in themessage, the device can identify (808) a signature block of the messageand analyze the identified signature block for the entity and the itemof contact information. The message can include (810) an email and thesignature block can be an e-mail signature. The email can include (812)one or more prior emails in an email thread, and the identifying of thee-mail signature can include analyzing the one or more prior emails inthe email thread. By unrolling the quoting layers of the e-mail thedevice can avoid misassociating contact information location indifferent e-mails in an e-mail thread.

In some embodiments, the device can identify unstructured content in themessage by searching for definitive phrases with data detectors. Forexample, to identify the entity and associated item of contactinformation in the message, the device can identify (814) in the messageone or more phrases based on a collection of predefined phrases, andanalyze the one or more identified phrases for the entity and the itemof contact information. The device can update (816) the collection ofpredefined phrases over a network, which can allow the device tocontinue to use accurate phrases. The device can also downgrade (818)one or more of the predefined phrases as a result of a request to rejectthe suggested item of contact information. In other words, if userscontinue to reject suggestions identified through the use of particularphrases, that can be an indication that those phrases are inaccurate.The device can also generate (820) one or more of the predefined phrasesby cross-correlating contact information in the database with languageassociated with contact information on the electronic device (such asmessages, calendar events, etc.) In this manner the device can determinewhat exact language in a message with contact information, for example,led a user to create or update a contact with the contact information.

In some embodiments, the suggested contact can be searchable in view ofthe data architecture of FIG. 5A. For example, the device can receive(826) a request for a contact (e.g., by a user searching for a contactvia an application on the device) and, in response to the request for acontact, search the suggested item of contact information.

In some embodiments, the device can (828), in response to the updatingof the contact, refrain from storing the suggested item of contactinformation in a remote database over a network. If the suggested itemof contact information is in suggested state 540, the device can refrainfrom pushing the item of contact information to an updating orsynchronization service (e.g., an application on the device) that allowscontacts to be updated on multiple clients over a network.

In some embodiments, the device can (830) receive a request to add thesuggested item of contact information to the database (e.g., FIG. 6B,“Add to Contacts” 602) and in response to the request, store the updatedcontact, without the indication that the item of contact information isa suggested item of contact information (e.g., change the state of thecontact information from suggested state 540 to added state 550), in thedatabase. In response to the request to add the suggested item ofcontact information to the database, the device can store (832) theupdated contact, without the indication that the item of contactinformation is a suggested item of contact information, in a remotedatabase over a network by, for example, pushing the contact informationto an updating/synchronization service.

In some embodiments, the device can (834) receive a request to rejectthe suggested item of contact information (e.g., FIG. 6B, “Ignore” 604)and, in response to the request, reject the suggested item of contactinformation, preventing the contact from being updated in the futurewith the suggested item of contact information as a result of the entityand the item of contact information being identified in a futuremessage. This can be implemented by storing rejected contact informationin rejected state 560, so that the device can know what has already beenrejected.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisplaying a contact with suggested contact information in accordancewith some embodiments. The process can be performed at an electronicdevice with a display (e.g., device 500).

The electronic device can receive (902) a message (e.g., FIG. 6D, emailin message portion 614) and identify (904), in the received message, anentity (e.g., FIG. 6D, “John Appleseed”) and contact information (e.g.,FIG. 6D, “405-123-6633”) associated with the entity. The device cangenerate (906) an indication (e.g., metadata) that the identifiedcontact information is suggested contact information, and display (908)a first user interface (e.g., FIG. 6A) corresponding to a contactassociated with the entity. The first user interface can include a firstuser interface object (e.g., “Suggestion”) based on the generatedindication, indicating that the identified contact information issuggested contact information.

In some embodiments, the device can prevent (910) an input correspondingto a selection of the suggested contact information from invoking anapplication to contact the entity (e.g., FIG. 6A, selecting thesuggested number does not call the number).

In some embodiments, the device can (912) detect an input correspondingto a selection of the suggested contact information in the first userinterface, and in response to the detection, display a second userinterface (e.g., FIG. 6B) including a second user interface object(e.g., FIG. 6B, “Add to Contacts” 602) associated with the identifiedcontact information that, when selected, causes the electronic device toadd the identified contact information to a database. The second userinterface can (914) include a third user interface object (e.g., FIG.6B, “Ignore” 604) associated with the identified contact informationthat, when selected, causes the electronic device to cease displayingthe second user interface object. Displaying the second user interfacecan cease (916) displaying the first user interface. The device can, inresponse to adding the identified contact information to the database,cease (918) display of the first user interface object.

In some embodiments the second user interface can display (920) at leasta portion of the message (e.g., FIG. 6B, “Related email”). The devicecan (922) detect an input corresponding to a selection of the displayedmessage and, in response to the detection, invoke an application (e.g.,E-mail Client Module 140) to open the message (e.g., FIG. 6D). Themessage can (924) be an email and the application can be an emailapplication.

In some embodiments the device can detect (926) an input correspondingto a selection of the suggested contact information in the second userinterface, and in response to the detection, invoke an application(e.g., telephone module 138) to contact the entity using the identifiedcontact information. In response to the detection of the inputcorresponding to a selection of the suggested contact information in thesecond user interface, the device can (928) add the identified contactinformation to the database (e.g., change the state of the contactinformation from suggested state 540 to added state 550). The devicecan, in response to adding the identified contact information to thedatabase, cease (918) display of the first user interface object.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisplaying suggested contact information with a message in accordancewith some embodiments. The process can be performed at an electronicdevice with a display (e.g., device 500).

The electronic device can receive (1002) a message (e.g., FIG. 6D, emailin message portion 614) and identify (1004), in the received message, anentity (e.g., FIG. 6D, “John Appleseed”) and contact information (e.g.,FIG. 6D, “405-123-6633”) associated with the entity. The message can(1006) be an email. The identified entity can (1008) be a name and theidentified contact information can be a phone number, address, businessor social networking handle.

The device can display (1010) a first user interface (e.g., FIG. 6D)corresponding to the received message. The first user interface caninclude a first portion (e.g., FIG. 6D, message portion 614) includingcontent of the message as received by the electronic device and a secondportion (e.g., FIG. 6D, suggestion portion 612) including a first userinterface object (e.g., FIG. 6D, “John Appleseed”) corresponding to theidentified entity, a second user interface object (e.g., FIG. 6D,“405-123-6633”) corresponding to the identified contact information, anda third user interface object (e.g., FIG. 6D, “Add to Contacts” 618)associated with the identified contact information that, when selected,causes the electronic device to add the identified contact informationto a database (e.g., store the contact information as a contact). Thesecond portion can (1012) include a fourth user interface object (e.g.,FIG. 6D, “Ignore” 620) associated with the identified contactinformation that, when selected, causes the electronic device to ceasedisplaying the third user interface object.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process forgenerating a suggested calendar event in accordance with someembodiments. The process can be performed at an electronic device (e.g.,device 500).

The electronic device can receive (1102) a message (e.g., FIG. 6E, emailin message portion 622) and identify (1104), in the received message,event information (e.g., FIG. 6E, “Dinner”, “Any Sushi Bar”, “Fri, March7th”, or “9:50 PM”). The device can generate (1122) a calendar event(e.g., FIG. 5B, calendar event 530B) associated with the identifiedevent information, the generated calendar event including the eventinformation and an indication (e.g., metadata) that the generatedcalendar event is a suggested calendar event (e.g., in suggested state540).

In some embodiments, the identified event information is (1106) a dateand a time.

In some embodiments, the device can identify structured content in themessage by using templates configured to recognize event information inthe particular format provided by such messages. For example, toidentify the event information in the message, the device can (1108)identify a format of content in the message, identify a template from acollection of predefined templates that is configured to recognize eventinformation in the format of the content in the message, and analyze thecontent with the identified template for the event information. Themessage can include (1110) an email and the content can include areservation (e.g., FIG. 6E). The device can update (1112) the collectionof predefined templates over a network, which can allow the device tocontinue to use accurate templates.

In some embodiments, the device can identify unstructured content in themessage by searching for references to event information with datadetectors. For example, to identify the event information in themessage, the device can identify (1114) in the message one or morereferences to a date and time based on a collection of predefinedreferences to a date and time, and analyze the one or more identifiedreferences to a date and time for the event information. The device canupdate (1116) the collection of predefined references to a date and timeover a network, which can allow the device to continue to use accuratereferences. The device can downgrade (1118) one or more of thepredefined references to a date and time as a result of a request toreject the suggested calendar event. In other words, if users continueto reject suggestions identified through the use of particularreferences to date and time, that can be an indication that thosereferences are inaccurate. The device can generate (1120) one or more ofthe predefined references to a date and time by cross-correlating eventinformation in a database including a plurality of calendar events withlanguage associated with event information on the electronic device. Inthis manner the device can better determine what language in a messagewith event information, for example, led a user to create or update acalendar event with the event information.

In some embodiments, the suggested calendar event can be searchable inview of the data architecture of FIG. 5. For example, the device canreceive (1124) a request for a calendar event (e.g., by a user searchingfor a calendar event via an application on the device) and, in responseto the request for a calendar event, searching the suggested calendarevent.

In some embodiments, the device can, in response to the generation ofthe calendar event, refrain (1126) from storing the suggested calendarevent in a remote database over a network. For example, if the suggestedcalendar event is in suggested state 540, the device can refrain frompushing the calendar event to an updating or synchronization service(e.g., an application on the device) that allows calendar events to beupdated on multiple clients over a network.

In some embodiments the device can (1128) receive a request to add thesuggested calendar event (e.g., FIG. 6E, “Add to Calendar” 626) to adatabase including a plurality of calendar events, and in response,storing the generated calendar event, without the indication that thegenerated calendar event is a suggested calendar event (e.g., change thestate of the calendar event from suggested state 540 to added state550), in the database. In response to the request to add the suggestedcalendar event to the database, the device can store (1130) thegenerated calendar event, without the indication that the generatedcalendar event is a suggested calendar event, in a remote database overa network by, for example, pushing the calendar event to an updating orsynchronization service.

In some embodiments, the device can (1132) receive a request to rejectthe suggested calendar event (e.g., FIG. 6E, “Ignore” 628), and, inresponse to the request to reject, prevent the suggested calendar eventfrom being generated in the future as a result of the event informationbeing identified in a future message. This can be implemented by storingrejected events in rejected state 560, so that the device can know whathas already been rejected.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisplaying suggested event information with a message in accordance withsome embodiments. The process can be performed at an electronic devicewith a display (e.g., device 500).

The electronic device can receive (1202) a message (e.g., FIG. 6E, emailin message portion 622) and identify (1204), in the received message,event information (e.g., FIG. 6E, “Dinner”, “Any Sushi Bar”, “Fri, March7th”, or “9:50 PM”). The message can be (1206) an email. The identifiedevent information can (1208) be a date and a time.

The device can display (1210) a first user interface (e.g., FIG. 6E)corresponding to the received message. The first user interface caninclude a first portion (e.g., FIG. 6E, message portion 622) includingcontent of the message as received by the electronic device and a secondportion (e.g., FIG. 6E, suggestion portion 620) including a first userinterface object (e.g., FIG. 6E, “Dinner”, “Any Sushi Bar”, “Fri, March7th”, or “9:50 PM”) corresponding to the identified event informationand a second user interface object (e.g., FIG. 6E, “Add to Calendar”626) associated with the identified event information that, whenselected, causes the electronic device to add the identified eventinformation to a database including a plurality of calendar events(e.g., store the event information as a calendar event). The secondportion can (1212) include a third user interface object (e.g., FIG. 6E,“Ignore” 628) associated with the identified event information that,when selected, causes the electronic device to cease displaying thesecond user interface object.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisplaying multiple suggested contact or event information with amessage in accordance with some embodiments. The process can beperformed at an electronic device with a display (e.g., device 500).

The electronic device can receive (1302) a message (e.g., FIG. 6F, emailin message portion 632) and identify (1304), in the received message,multiple instances of contact or event information (e.g., FIG. 6F, “2Events, 1 Contact” in attached travel itinerary).

The device can display (1306) a first user interface (e.g., FIG. 6F)corresponding to the received message. The first user interface caninclude a first portion (e.g., FIG. 6F, message portion 632) includingcontent of the message as received by the electronic device and a secondportion (e.g., FIG. 6F, suggestion portion 630) that, when selected,causes the electronic device to display a second user interface (FIG.6G) including a list of the multiple instances of identified contact orevent information.

In some embodiments, the device can (1308) detect an input correspondingto a selection of the second portion of the first user interface and, inresponse to the detection, display the second user interface includingthe list of the multiple instances of identified contact or eventinformation and, for each of the multiple instances of identifiedcontact or event information, a first user interface object (e.g., FIG.6G, “Add to Calendar”, or “Add to Contacts”) that, when selected, causesthe electronic device to add the identified information to a database(e.g., store the event information as a calendar event, or the contactinformation as a contact). The second user interface can (1310) include,for each of the multiple instances of identified contact or eventinformation, a second user interface object (e.g., FIG. 6G, “Ignore”)that, when selected, causes the electronic device to cease displayingthe first user interface object. The second user interface can (1312)include a third user interface object (e.g., FIG. 6G, “Add All” 634)that, when selected, causes the electronic device to add each of agrouping (e.g., calendar events or contacts) of the multiple instancesof identified contact or event information to a database. Displaying thesecond user interface can cease (1314) displaying the first userinterface.

It should be understood that the particular order in which theoperations in FIGS. 7A-13 have been described is exemplary and notintended to indicate that the described order is the only order in whichthe operations could be performed. One of ordinary skill in the artwould recognize various ways to reorder the operations described herein.For brevity, these details are not repeated here. Additionally, itshould be noted that aspects of processes 700-1300 (FIGS. 7-13) may beincorporated with one another.

The operations in the information processing processes described abovemay be implemented by running one or more functional modules ininformation processing apparatus such as general purpose processors orapplication specific chips. These modules, combinations of thesemodules, and/or their combination with general hardware (e.g., asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 3) are all includedwithin the scope of protection of the invention.

FIG. 14 shows exemplary functional blocks of an electronic device 1400that, in some examples, perform the features described above. As shownin FIG. 14, electronic device 1400 includes a display unit 1402configured to display graphical objects; a touch-sensitive surface unit1404 configured to receive user gestures; one or more RF units 1406configured to detect and communicate with external electronic devices;and a processing unit 1408 coupled to display unit 1402, touch-sensitivesurface unit 1404, and RF units 1406.

In some embodiments, processing unit 1408 is configured to support anoperating system 1410 running one or more applications 1412. In someembodiments, processing unit 1408 is configured to receive data, from RFunit 1406, representing an external device that is within wirelesscommunications range, display a graphical user interface affordance ontouch-sensitive surface unit 1404, and in response to detecting acontact on the displayed affordance, launch an application on device1400 that corresponds to an application that is executing on theexternal device.

The functional blocks of the device 1400 are, optionally, implemented byhardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carryout the principles of the various described examples. It is understoodby persons of skill in the art that the functional blocks described inFIG. 14 are, optionally, combined or separated into sub-blocks toimplement the principles of the various described examples. Therefore,the description herein optionally supports any possible combination orseparation or further definition of the functional blocks describedherein.

FIG. 15 shows exemplary functional blocks of another electronic device1500 that, in some examples, perform the features described above. Asshown in FIG. 14, electronic device 1500 includes a display unit 1402configured to display graphical objects; a touch-sensitive surface unit1504 configured to receive user gestures; one or more RF units 1506configured to detect and communicate with external electronic devices;and a processing unit 1508 coupled to display unit 1502, touch-sensitivesurface unit 1504, and RF units 1506.

In some embodiments, processing unit 1508 is configured to support oneor more of units 1510-1520 to perform the various functions describedabove. For example, receiving unit 1510 is configured to perform one ormore of the receiving functions describe above (e.g., receiving amessage). Identifying unit 1512 is configured to perform one or more ofthe identifying functions described above (e.g., identifying, in areceived message, an entity and contact information associated with theentity; identifying, in a received message, event information; oridentifying, in a received message, multiple instances of contact orevent information). Determining unit 1514 is configured to perform oneor more of the determining functions described above (e.g., determiningthat a contact associated with the identified entity does not existamong a plurality of contacts in a database; determining that a contactassociated with the identified entity exists among a plurality ofcontacts in a database and that the contact does not comprise theidentified item of contact information). Generating unit 1516 isconfigured to perform one or more of the generating steps describedabove (e.g., generating, in response to the determining, a contactassociated with the entity; generating an indication that the identifiedcontact information is suggested contact information; generating acalendar event associated with the identified event information).Updating unit 1518 is configured to perform one or more of the updatingsteps described above (e.g., updating, in response to the determining,the contact to comprise the items of contact information and anindication that the item of contact information is a suggested item ofcontact information). Displaying unit 1520 is configured to perform oneor more of the displaying steps described above (e.g., displaying, forexample on display unit 1502, a first user interface corresponding to acontact associated with the entity or the received message).

The functional blocks of the device 1500 are, optionally, implemented byhardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carryout the principles of the various described examples. It is understoodby persons of skill in the art that the functional blocks described inFIG. 15 are, optionally, combined or separated into sub-blocks toimplement the principles of the various described examples. Therefore,the description herein optionally supports any possible combination orseparation or further definition of the functional blocks describedherein.

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 16 shows a functional blockdiagram of an electronic device 1600 configured in accordance with theprinciples of the various described embodiments. The functional blocksof the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of thevarious described embodiments. It is understood by persons of skill inthe art that the functional blocks described in FIG. 16 are, optionally,combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of thevarious described embodiments. Therefore, the description hereinoptionally supports any possible combination or separation or furtherdefinition of the functional blocks described herein.

As shown in FIG. 16, an electronic device 1600 includes one or more RFunits 1606 configured communicate with external electronic devices; anda processing unit 1608, coupled to the RF units 1606. In someembodiments, the processing unit 1608 includes a receiving unit 1610, anidentifying unit 1612, a determining unit 1614, a generating unit 1616,an analyzing unit 1618, an updating unit 1620, a downgrading unit 1622,a searching unit 1624, a storing refraining unit 1626, a storing unit1628, and a preventing unit 1630.

The processing unit 1608 is configured to: receive (e.g., with receivingunit 1610) a message; identify (e.g., with identifying unit 1612), inthe received message, an entity and contact information associated withthe entity; determine (e.g., with determining unit 1614) that a contactassociated with the identified entity does not exist among a pluralityof contacts in a database; and in response to the determining, generate(e.g., with generating unit 1616) a contact associated with the entity,the generated contact comprising the contact information and anindication that the generated contact is a suggested contact.

In some embodiments, the identified entity comprises a name and theidentified contact information comprises a phone number, address,business or social networking handle.

In some embodiments, to identify, the processing unit 1608 is furtherconfigured to: identify (e.g., with identifying unit 1612) a signatureblock of the message; and analyze (e.g., with analyzing unit 1618) theidentified signature block for the entity and the contact information.

In some embodiments, the message comprises an email and the signatureblock comprises an e-mail signature.

In some embodiments, the email comprises one or more prior emails in anemail thread, and wherein to identify the e-mail signature, theprocessing unit 1608 is further configured to: analyze (e.g., withanalyzing unit 1618) the one or more prior emails in the email thread.

In some embodiments, to identify, the processing unit 1608 is furtherconfigured to: identify (e.g., with identifying unit 1612) in themessage one or more phrases based on a collection of predefined phrases;and analyze (e.g., with analyzing unit 1618) the one or more identifiedphrases for the entity and the contact information.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1608 further configured to:update (e.g., with updating unit 1620) the collection of predefinedphrases over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1608 further configured to:downgrade (e.g., with downgrading unit 1622) one or more of thepredefined phrases as a result of a request to reject the suggestedcontact.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1608 further configured to:generate (e.g., with generating unit 1616) one or more of the predefinedphrases by cross-correlating contact information in the database withlanguage associated with contact information on the electronic device.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1608 further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 1610) a request for a contact; and inresponse to the request for a contact, search (e.g., with searching unit1624) the suggested contact.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1608 further configured to: inresponse to the generation of the contact, refrain from storing (e.g.,with storing refraining unit 1626) the suggested contact in a remotedatabase over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1608 further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 1610) a request to add the suggestedcontact to the database; and in response to the request to add thesuggested contact to the database, store (e.g., with storing unit 1628)the generated contact, without the indication that the generated contactis a suggested contact, in the database.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1608 further configured to: inresponse to the request to add the suggested contact to the database,store (e.g., with storing unit 1628) the generated contact, without theindication that the generated contact is a suggested contact, in aremote database over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1608 further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 1610) a request to reject thesuggested contact; and in response to the request to reject thesuggested contact, prevent (e.g., with preventing unit 1630) thesuggested contact from being generated in the future as a result of theentity and the contact information being identified in a future message.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 7A-7B are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B or FIG.16. For example, receive operation at block 702, identify operation atblock 704, determine operation at block 722, generate operation at block724, receive operation at block 726, and refrain from storing operationat block 728 may be implemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer180, and event handler 190. Event monitor 171 in event sorter 170detects a contact on touch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatchermodule 174 delivers the event information to application 136-1. Arespective event recognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the eventinformation to respective event definitions 186, and determines whethera first contact at a first location on the touch-sensitive surfacecorresponds to a predefined event or sub event, such as activation of anaffordance on a user interface. When a respective predefined event orsub-event is detected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler190 associated with the detection of the event or sub-event. Eventhandler 190 may utilize or call data updater 176 or object updater 177to update the application internal state 192. In some embodiments, eventhandler 190 accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what isdisplayed by the application. Similarly, it would be clear to a personhaving ordinary skill in the art how other processes can be implementedbased on the components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 17 shows a functional blockdiagram of an electronic device 1700 configured in accordance with theprinciples of the various described embodiments. The functional blocksof the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of thevarious described embodiments. It is understood by persons of skill inthe art that the functional blocks described in FIG. 17 are, optionally,combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of thevarious described embodiments. Therefore, the description hereinoptionally supports any possible combination or separation or furtherdefinition of the functional blocks described herein.

As shown in FIG. 17, an electronic device 1700 includes one or more RFunits 1706 configured to communicate with external electronic devices;and processing unit 1708 coupled to one or more RF units 1706. In someembodiments, the processing unit 1708 includes a receiving unit 1710, anidentifying unit 1712, a determining unit 1714, a generating unit 1716,an analyzing unit 1718, an updating unit 1720, a downgrading unit 1722,a searching unit 1724, a storing refraining unit 1726, a storing unit1728, and a preventing unit 1730.

The processing unit 1708 is configured to: receive (e.g., with receivingunit 1710) a message; identify (e.g., with identifying unit 1712), inthe received message, an entity and an item of contact informationassociated with the entity; determine (e.g., with determining unit 1714)that a contact associated with the identified entity exists among aplurality of contacts in a database and that the contact does notcomprise the identified item of contact information; and in response tothe determining, update (e.g., with updating unit 1720) the contact tocomprise the item of contact information and an indication that the itemof contact information is a suggested item of contact information.

In some embodiments, the identified entity comprises a name and theidentified item of contact information comprises a phone number,address, business or social networking handle.

In some embodiments, to identify, the processing unit 1708 is furtherconfigured to: identify (e.g., with identifying unit 1712) a signatureblock of the message; and analyze (e.g., with analyzing unit 1718) theidentified signature block for the entity and the item of contactinformation.

In some embodiments, the message comprises an email and the signatureblock comprises an e-mail signature.

In some embodiments, the email comprises one or more prior emails in anemail thread, and wherein to identify the e-mail signature, theprocessing unit 1708 is further configured to analyze (e.g., withanalyzing unit 1718) the one or more prior emails in the email thread.

In some embodiments, to identify, the processing unit 1708 is furtherconfigured to: identify (e.g., with identifying unit 1712) in themessage one or more phrases based on a collection of predefined phrases;and analyze (e.g., with analyzing unit 1718) the one or more identifiedphrases for the entity and the item of contact information.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1708 is further configured to:update (e.g., with updating unit 1720) the collection of predefinedphrases over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1708 is further configured to:downgrade (e.g., with downgrading unit 1722) one or more of thepredefined phrases as a result of a request to reject the suggested itemof contact information.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1708 is further configured to:generate (e.g., with generating unit 1716) one or more of the predefinedphrases by cross-correlating contact information in the database withlanguage associated with contact information on the electronic device.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1708 is further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 1710) a request for a contact; and inresponse to the request for a contact, search (e.g., with searching unit1724) the suggested item of contact information.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1708 is further configured to:in response to the updating of the contact, refrain from storing (e.g.,with storing refraining unit 1726) the suggested item of contactinformation in a remote database over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1708 is further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 1710) a request to add the suggesteditem of contact information to the database; and in response to therequest to add the suggested item of contact information to thedatabase, store (e.g., with storing unit 1728) the updated contact,without the indication that the item of contact information is asuggested item of contact information, in the database.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1708 is further configured to:in response to the request to add the suggested item of contactinformation to the database, store (e.g., with storing unit 1728) theupdated contact, without the indication that the item of contactinformation is a suggested item of contact information, in a remotedatabase over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1708 is further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 1710) a request to reject thesuggested item of contact information; and in response to the request toreject the suggested item of contact information, prevent (e.g., withpreventing unit 1730) the contact from being updated in the future withthe suggested item of contact information as a result of the entity andthe item of contact information being identified in a future message.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 8A-8B are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B or FIG.17. For example, receive operation at block 802, identify operation atblock 804, determine operation at block 822, and update operation atblock 824 may be implemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer 180,and event handler 190. Event monitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects acontact on touch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatcher module 174delivers the event information to application 136-1. A respective eventrecognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the event information torespective event definitions 186, and determines whether a first contactat a first location on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to apredefined event or sub event, such as activation of an affordance on auser interface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event isdetected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associatedwith the detection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190 mayutilize or call data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update theapplication internal state 192. In some embodiments, event handler 190accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by theapplication. Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinaryskill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on thecomponents depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 18 shows a functional blockdiagram of an electronic device 1800 configured in accordance with theprinciples of the various described embodiments. The functional blocksof the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of thevarious described embodiments. It is understood by persons of skill inthe art that the functional blocks described in FIG. 18 are, optionally,combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of thevarious described embodiments. Therefore, the description hereinoptionally supports any possible combination or separation or furtherdefinition of the functional blocks described herein.

As shown in FIG. 18, an electronic device 1800 includes a display unit1802 configured to display graphical objects; one or more RF units 1806configured communicate with external electronic devices; and processingunit 1808 coupled to display unit 1802 and one or more RF units 1806. Insome embodiments, the processing unit 1808 includes a receiving unit1810, an identifying unit 1812, a generating unit 1814, a displayenabling unit 1816, a preventing unit 1818, a detecting unit 1820, aninvoking unit 1822, and an adding unit 1824.

The processing unit 1808 is configured to: receive (e.g., with receivingunit 1810) a message; identify (e.g., with identifying unit 1812), inthe received message, an entity and contact information associated withthe entity; generate (e.g., with generating unit 1814) an indicationthat the identified contact information is suggested contactinformation; and enable display of (e.g., with display enabling unit1816) a first user interface corresponding to a contact associated withthe entity, the first user interface comprising a first user interfaceobject, based on the generated indication, indicating that theidentified contact information is suggested contact information.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1808 is further configured to:prevent (e.g., with preventing unit 1818) an input corresponding to aselection of the suggested contact information from invoking anapplication to contact the entity.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1808 is further configured to:detect (e.g., with detecting unit 1820) an input corresponding to aselection of the suggested contact information in the first userinterface; and in response to the detection of the input correspondingto a selection of the suggested contact information in the first userinterface, enable display of (e.g., with display enabling unit 1816) asecond user interface comprising a second user interface objectassociated with the identified contact information that, when selected,causes the electronic device to add the identified contact informationto a database.

In some embodiments, the second user interface comprises a third userinterface object associated with the identified contact informationthat, when selected, causes the electronic device to cease displayingthe second user interface object.

In some embodiments, display of the second user interface ceases displayof the first user interface.

In some embodiments, the second user interface displays at least aportion of the message.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1808 is further configured to:detect (e.g., with detecting unit 1820) an input corresponding to aselection of the displayed message; and in response to the detection ofthe input corresponding to a selection of the displayed message, invoke(e.g., with invoking unit 1822) an application to open the message.

In some embodiments, the message comprises an email and the applicationcomprises an email application.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1808 is further configured to:detect (e.g., with detecting unit 1820) an input corresponding to aselection of the suggested contact information in the second userinterface; and in response to the detection of the input correspondingto a selection of the suggested contact information in the second userinterface, invoke (e.g., with invoking unit 1822) an application tocontact the entity using the identified contact information.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1808 is further configured to:in response to the detection of the input corresponding to a selectionof the suggested contact information in the second user interface, add(e.g., with adding unit 1824) the identified contact information to thedatabase.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 1808 is further configured to:in response to adding the identified contact information to thedatabase, cease display of the first user interface object.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 9A-9B are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B or FIG.18. For example, receive operation at block 902, identify operation atblock 904, generate operation at block 906, and display operation atblock 908 may be implemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer 180,and event handler 190. Event monitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects acontact on touch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatcher module 174delivers the event information to application 136-1. A respective eventrecognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the event information torespective event definitions 186, and determines whether a first contactat a first location on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to apredefined event or sub event, such as activation of an affordance on auser interface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event isdetected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associatedwith the detection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190 mayutilize or call data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update theapplication internal state 192. In some embodiments, event handler 190accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by theapplication. Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinaryskill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on thecomponents depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 19 shows a functional blockdiagram of an electronic device 1900 configured in accordance with theprinciples of the various described embodiments. The functional blocksof the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of thevarious described embodiments. It is understood by persons of skill inthe art that the functional blocks described in FIG. 19 are, optionally,combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of thevarious described embodiments. Therefore, the description hereinoptionally supports any possible combination or separation or furtherdefinition of the functional blocks described herein.

As shown in FIG. 19, an electronic device 1900 includes a display unit1902 configured to display graphical objects and one or more RF units1906 configured to communicate with external electronic devices; andprocessing unit 1908 coupled to display unit 1902 and one or more RFunits 1906. In some embodiments, the processing unit 1908 includes areceiving unit 1910, an identifying unit 1912, and a display enablingunit 1914.

The processing unit 1908 is configured to: receive (e.g., with receivingunit 1910) a message; identify (e.g., with identifying unit 1912), inthe received message, an entity and contact information associated withthe entity; and enable display (e.g., with display enabling unit 1914)of a first user interface corresponding to the received message, thefirst user interface comprising: a first portion comprising content ofthe message as received by the electronic device; and a second portioncomprising: a first user interface object corresponding to theidentified entity; a second user interface object corresponding to theidentified contact information; and a third user interface objectassociated with the identified contact information that, when selected,causes the electronic device to add the identified contact informationto a database.

In some embodiments, the second portion comprises a fourth userinterface object associated with the identified contact informationthat, when selected, causes the electronic device to cease displayingthe third user interface object.

In some embodiments, the message comprises an email.

In some embodiments, the identified entity comprises a name and theidentified contact information comprises a phone number, address,business or social networking handle.

The operations described above with reference to FIG. 10 are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B or FIG.19. For example, receive operation at block 1002, identify operation atblock 1004, and display operation at block 1010 may be implemented byevent sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190. Eventmonitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the eventinformation to application 136-1. A respective event recognizer 180 ofapplication 136-1 compares the event information to respective eventdefinitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a firstlocation on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to a predefinedevent or sub event, such as activation of an affordance on a userinterface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected,event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with thedetection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190 may utilize orcall data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the applicationinternal state 192. In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses arespective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by theapplication. Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinaryskill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on thecomponents depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 20 shows a functional blockdiagram of an electronic device 2000 configured in accordance with theprinciples of the various described embodiments. The functional blocksof the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of thevarious described embodiments. It is understood by persons of skill inthe art that the functional blocks described in FIG. 20 are, optionally,combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of thevarious described embodiments. Therefore, the description hereinoptionally supports any possible combination or separation or furtherdefinition of the functional blocks described herein.

As shown in FIG. 20, an electronic device 2000 includes one or more RFunits 2006 configured to communicate with external electronic devices;and processing unit 2008 coupled to one or more RF units 2006. In someembodiments, the processing unit 2008 includes a receiving unit 2010, anidentifying unit 2012, a generating unit 2014, an analyzing unit 2016,an updating unit 2018, a downgrading unit 2020, a searching unit 2022, astoring refraining unit 2024, a storing unit 2026, and a preventing unit2028.

The processing unit 2008 is configured to: receive (e.g., with receivingunit 2010) a message; identify (e.g., with identifying unit 2012), inthe received message, event information; and generate (e.g., withgenerating unit 2014) a calendar event associated with the identifiedevent information, the generated calendar event comprising the eventinformation and an indication that the generated calendar event is asuggested calendar event.

In some embodiments, the identified event information comprises a dateand a time.

In some embodiments, to identify, the processing unit 2008 is furtherconfigured to: identify (e.g., with identifying unit 2012) a format ofcontent in the message; identify (e.g., with identifying unit 2012) atemplate from a collection of predefined templates that is configured torecognize event information in the format of the content in the message;and analyze (e.g., with analyzing unit 2016) the content with theidentified template for the event information.

In some embodiments, the message comprises an email and the contentcomprises a reservation.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured toupdate (e.g., with updating unit 2018) the collection of predefinedtemplates over a network.

In some embodiments, to identify, the processing unit 2008 is furtherconfigured to: identify (e.g., with identifying unit 2012) in themessage one or more references to a date and time based on a collectionof predefined references to a date and time; and analyze (e.g., withanalyzing unit 2016) the one or more identified references to a date andtime for the event information.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured toupdate (e.g., with updating unit 2018) the collection of predefinedreferences to a date and time over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured todowngrade (e.g., with downgrading unit 2020) one or more of thepredefined references to a date and time as a result of a request toreject the suggested calendar event.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured togenerate (e.g., with generating unit 2014) one or more of the predefinedreferences to a date and time by cross-correlating event information ina database comprising a plurality of calendar events with languageassociated with event information on the electronic device.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 2010) a request for a calendar event;and in response to the request for a calendar event, search (e.g., withsearching unit 2022) the suggested calendar event.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured to,in response to the generation of the calendar event, refrain fromstoring (e.g., with storing refraining unit 2024) the suggested calendarevent in a remote database over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 2010) a request to add the suggestedcalendar event to a database comprising a plurality of calendar events;and in response to the request to add the suggested calendar event tothe database, store (e.g., with storing unit 2026) the generatedcalendar event, without the indication that the generated calendar eventis a suggested calendar event, in the database.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured to,in response to the request to add the suggested calendar event to thedatabase, store (e.g., with storing unit 2026) the generated calendarevent, without the indication that the generated calendar event is asuggested calendar event, in a remote database over a network.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2008 is further configured to:receive (e.g., with receiving unit 2010) a request to reject thesuggested calendar event; and in response to the request to reject thesuggested calendar event, prevent (e.g., with preventing unit 2028) thesuggested calendar event from being generated in the future as a resultof the event information being identified in a future message.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 11A-11B are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B or FIG.20. For example, receive operation at block 1102, identify operation atblock 1104, and generate operation at block 1122 may be implemented byevent sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190. Eventmonitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the eventinformation to application 136-1. A respective event recognizer 180 ofapplication 136-1 compares the event information to respective eventdefinitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a firstlocation on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to a predefinedevent or sub event, such as activation of an affordance on a userinterface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected,event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with thedetection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190 may utilize orcall data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the applicationinternal state 192. In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses arespective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by theapplication. Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinaryskill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on thecomponents depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 21 shows a functional blockdiagram of an electronic device 2100 configured in accordance with theprinciples of the various described embodiments. The functional blocksof the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of thevarious described embodiments. It is understood by persons of skill inthe art that the functional blocks described in FIG. 21 are, optionally,combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of thevarious described embodiments. Therefore, the description hereinoptionally supports any possible combination or separation or furtherdefinition of the functional blocks described herein.

As shown in FIG. 21, an electronic device 2100 includes a display unit2102 configured to display graphical objects and one or more RF units2106 configured to communicate with external electronic devices; andprocessing unit 2108 coupled to display unit 2102 and one or more RFunits 2106. In some embodiments, the processing unit 2108 includes areceiving unit 2110, an identifying unit 2112, and a display enablingunit 2114.

The processing unit 2108 is configured to: receive (e.g., with receivingunit 2110) a message; identify (e.g., with identifying unit 2112), inthe received message, event information; and enable display (e.g., withdisplay enabling unit 2114) of a first user interface corresponding tothe received message, the first user interface comprising: a firstportion comprising content of the message as received by the electronicdevice; and a second portion comprising: a first user interface objectcorresponding to the identified event information; and a second userinterface object associated with the identified event information that,when selected, causes the electronic device to add the identified eventinformation to a database comprising a plurality of calendar events.

In some embodiments, the second portion comprises a third user interfaceobject associated with the identified event information that, whenselected, causes the electronic device to cease displaying the seconduser interface object.

In some embodiments, the message comprises an email.

In some embodiments, the identified event information comprises a dateand a time.

The operations described above with reference to FIG. 12 are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B or FIG.21. For example, receive operation at block 1202, identify operation atblock 1204, and display operation at block 1210 may be implemented byevent sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190. Eventmonitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the eventinformation to application 136-1. A respective event recognizer 180 ofapplication 136-1 compares the event information to respective eventdefinitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a firstlocation on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to a predefinedevent or sub event, such as activation of an affordance on a userinterface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected,event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with thedetection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190 may utilize orcall data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the applicationinternal state 192. In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses arespective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by theapplication. Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinaryskill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on thecomponents depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 22 shows a functional blockdiagram of an electronic device 2200 configured in accordance with theprinciples of the various described embodiments. The functional blocksof the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of thevarious described embodiments. It is understood by persons of skill inthe art that the functional blocks described in FIG. 22 are, optionally,combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of thevarious described embodiments. Therefore, the description hereinoptionally supports any possible combination or separation or furtherdefinition of the functional blocks described herein.

As shown in FIG. 22, an electronic device 2200 includes a display unit2202 configured to display graphical objects and one or more RF units2206 configured to communicate with external electronic devices; andprocessing unit 2208 coupled to display unit 2202 and one or more RFunits 2206. In some embodiments, the processing unit 2208 includes areceiving unit 2210, an identifying unit 2212, a display enabling unit2214, and a detecting unit 2216.

The processing unit 2208 is configured to: receive (e.g., with receivingunit 2210) a message; identify (e.g., with identifying unit 2212), inthe received message, multiple instances of contact or eventinformation; and enable display (e.g., with display enabling unit 2214)of a first user interface corresponding to the received message, thefirst user interface comprising: a first portion comprising content ofthe message as received by the electronic device; and a second portionthat, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a seconduser interface comprising a list of the multiple instances of identifiedcontact or event information.

In some embodiments, the processing unit 2208 is further configured to:detect (e.g., with detecting unit 2216) an input corresponding to aselection of the second portion of the first user interface; and inresponse to the detection of the input corresponding to a selection ofthe second portion of the first user interface, enable display (e.g.,with display enabling unit 2214) of the second user interfacecomprising: the list of the multiple instances of identified contact orevent information; and for each of the multiple instances of identifiedcontact or event information, a first user interface object that, whenselected, causes the electronic device to add the identified informationto a database.

In some embodiments, the second user interface comprises, for each ofthe multiple instances of identified contact or event information, asecond user interface object that, when selected, causes the electronicdevice to cease displaying the first user interface object.

In some embodiments, the second user interface comprises a third userinterface object that, when selected, causes the electronic device toadd each of a grouping of the multiple instances of identified contactor event information to a database.

In some embodiments, to enable display of the second user interfaceceases display of the first user interface.

The operations described above with reference to FIG. 13 are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B or FIG.22. For example, receive operation at block 1302, identify operation atblock 1304, and display operation at block 1306 may be implemented byevent sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190. Eventmonitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the eventinformation to application 136-1. A respective event recognizer 180 ofapplication 136-1 compares the event information to respective eventdefinitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a firstlocation on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to a predefinedevent or sub event, such as activation of an affordance on a userinterface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected,event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with thedetection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190 may utilize orcall data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the applicationinternal state 192. In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses arespective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by theapplication. Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinaryskill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on thecomponents depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the techniques and their practical applications. Othersskilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniquesand various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that variouschanges and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in theart. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as beingincluded within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined bythe claims.

As described above, one aspect of the present technology is thegathering and use of data available from various sources to improve thedelivery to users of invitational content or any other content that maybe of interest to them. The present disclosure contemplates that in someinstances, this gathered data may include personal information data thatuniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specificperson. Such personal information data can include demographic data,location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, home addresses,or any other identifying information.

The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personalinformation data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefitof users. For example, the personal information data can be used todeliver targeted content that is of greater interest to the user.Accordingly, use of such personal information data enables calculatedcontrol of the delivered content. Further, other uses for personalinformation data that benefit the user are also contemplated by thepresent disclosure.

The present disclosure further contemplates that the entitiesresponsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage,or other use of such personal information data will comply withwell-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. Inparticular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacypolicies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting orexceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personalinformation data private and secure. For example, personal informationfrom users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of theentity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further,such collection should occur only after receiving the informed consentof the users. Additionally, such entities would take any needed stepsfor safeguarding and securing access to such personal information dataand ensuring that others with access to the personal information dataadhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entitiescan subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify theiradherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices.

Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplatesembodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to,personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplatesthat hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent orblock access to such personal information data. For example, in the caseof advertisement delivery services, the present technology can beconfigured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” ofparticipation in the collection of personal information data duringregistration for services. In another example, users can select not toprovide location information for targeted content delivery services. Inyet another example, users can select to not provide precise locationinformation, but permit the transfer of location zone information.

Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use ofpersonal information data to implement one or more various disclosedembodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the variousembodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing suchpersonal information data. That is, the various embodiments of thepresent technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all ora portion of such personal information data. For example, content can beselected and delivered to users by inferring preferences based onnon-personal information data or a bare minimum amount of personalinformation, such as the content being requested by the deviceassociated with a user, other non-personal information available to thecontent delivery services, or publically available information.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring one or more programs, the one or more programs comprisinginstructions, which when executed by one or more processors of anelectronic device with a display, cause the device to: receive amessage; in response to receipt of the message, automatically identify,in the received message, an entity and contact information associatedwith the entity, wherein the identified contact information includes atleast one of a phone number, address, business name, or socialnetworking handle; in response to identifying, automatically determinethat a contact associated with the identified entity does not existamong a plurality of contacts in a database; in response to thedetermining, automatically generate a contact associated with theentity; display the generated contact comprising the contact informationand an indication that the generated contact is a suggested contact,wherein the indication identifies the contact information with a firstselectable affordance configured to invoke a user interface forreviewing the suggested contact; and in response to a request to reviewthe suggested contact, replace display of the indication with thecontact information that includes a second selectable affordanceconfigured to invoke a communication application to contact the entity.2. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1,wherein to identify comprises: identify a signature block of themessage; and analyze the identified signature block for the entity andthe contact information.
 3. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 2, wherein the message comprises an email and thesignature block comprises an e-mail signature.
 4. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein the email comprisesone or more prior emails in an email thread, and wherein to identify thee-mail signature comprises: analyze the one or more prior emails in theemail thread.
 5. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 1, wherein to identify comprises: identify in the message one ormore phrases based on a collection of predefined phrases; and analyzethe one or more identified phrases for the entity and the contactinformation.
 6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 5, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage mediumfurther comprises instructions, which when executed by the one or moreprocessors of the electronic device, cause the device to: update thecollection of predefined phrases over a network.
 7. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 5, wherein the non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium further comprises instructions, whichwhen executed by the one or more processors of the electronic device,cause the device to: downgrade one or more of the predefined phrases asa result of a request to reject the suggested contact.
 8. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 5, wherein thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesinstructions, which when executed by the one or more processors of theelectronic device, cause the device to: generate one or more of thepredefined phrases by cross-correlating contact information in thedatabase with language associated with contact information on theelectronic device.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises instructions, which when executed by the one ormore processors of the electronic device, cause the device to: receive arequest for a contact; and in response to the request for a contact,search the suggested contact.
 10. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium further comprises instructions, which when executed bythe one or more processors of the electronic device, cause the deviceto: in response to the generation of the contact, refrain from storingthe suggested contact in a remote database over a network.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesinstructions, which when executed by the one or more processors of theelectronic device, cause the device to: receive a request to add thesuggested contact to the database; and in response to the request to addthe suggested contact to the database, store the generated contact,without the indication that the generated contact is a suggestedcontact, in the database.
 12. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 11, wherein the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium further comprises instructions, which when executed bythe one or more processors of the electronic device, cause the deviceto: in response to the request to add the suggested contact to thedatabase, store the generated contact, without the indication that thegenerated contact is a suggested contact, in a remote database over anetwork.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage mediumfurther comprises instructions, which when executed by the one or moreprocessors of the electronic device, cause the device to: receive arequest to reject the suggested contact, and in response to receivingthe request to reject the suggested contact, prevent the suggestedcontact from being generated in the future as a result of the entity andthe contact information being identified in a future message.
 14. Amethod comprising: at an electronic device with a display: receiving amessage; in response to the receipt of the message, automaticallyidentifying, in the received message, an entity and contact informationassociated with the entity, wherein the identified contact informationincludes at least one of a phone number, address, business, or socialnetworking handle; in response to the identifying, automaticallydetermining that a contact associated with the identified entity doesnot exist among a plurality of contacts in a database; in response tothe determining, automatically generating a contact associated with theentity; displaying the generated contact comprising the contactinformation and an indication that the generated contact is a suggestedcontact, wherein the indication identifies the contact information witha first selectable affordance configured to invoke a user interface forreviewing the suggested contact; and in response to a request to reviewthe suggested contact, replacing display of the indication with thecontact information that includes a second selectable affordanceconfigured to invoke a communication application to contact the entity.15. The method of claim 14, wherein identifying comprises: identifying asignature block of the message; and analyzing the identified signatureblock for the entity and the contact information.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the message comprises an email and the signature blockcomprises an e-mail signature.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein theemail comprises one or more prior emails in an email thread, and whereinidentifying the e-mail signature comprises: analyzing the one or moreprior emails in the email thread.
 18. The method of claim 14, whereinidentifying comprises: identifying in the message one or more phrasesbased on a collection of predefined phrases; and analyzing the one ormore identified phrases for the entity and the contact information. 19.The method of claim 18, further comprising: updating the collection ofpredefined phrases over a network.
 20. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising: downgrading one or more of the predefined phrases as aresult of a request to reject the suggested contact.
 21. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising: generating one or more of the predefinedphrases by cross-correlating contact information in the database withlanguage associated with contact information on the electronic device.22. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving a request fora contact; and in response to the request for a contact, searching thesuggested contact.
 23. The method of claim 14, further comprising: inresponse to the generation of the contact, refraining from storing thesuggested contact in a remote database over a network.
 24. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising: receiving a request to add the suggestedcontact to the database; and in response to the request to add thesuggested contact to the database, storing the generated contact,without the indication that the generated contact is a suggestedcontact, in the database.
 25. The method of claim 24, furthercomprising: in response to the request to add the suggested contact tothe database, storing the generated contact, without the indication thatthe generated contact is a suggested contact, in a remote database overa network.
 26. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving arequest to reject the suggested contact; and in response to receivingthe request to reject the suggested contact, preventing the suggestedcontact from being generated in the future as a result of the entity andthe contact information being identified in a future message.
 27. Anelectronic device, comprising: one or more processors; memory; and oneor more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in thememory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, theone or more programs including instructions for: receiving a message; inresponse to the receipt of the message, automatically identifying, inthe received message, an entity and contact information associated withthe entity, wherein the identified contact information includes at leastone of a phone number, address, business, or social networking handle;in response to the identifying, automatically determining that a contactassociated with the identified entity does not exist among a pluralityof contacts in a database; in response to the determining, automaticallygenerating a contact associated with the entity; displaying thegenerated contact comprising the contact information and an indicationthat the generated contact is a suggested contact, wherein theindication identifies the contact information with a first selectableaffordance configured to invoke a user interface for reviewing thesuggested contact; and in response to a request to review the suggestedcontact, replacing display of the indication with the contactinformation that includes a second selectable affordance configured toinvoke a communication application to contact the entity.
 28. Theelectronic device of claim 27, wherein identifying comprises:identifying a signature block of the message; and analyzing theidentified signature block for the entity and the contact information.29. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein the message comprises anemail and the signature block comprises an e-mail signature.
 30. Theelectronic device of claim 29, wherein the email comprises one or moreprior emails in an email thread, and wherein identifying the e-mailsignature comprises: analyzing the one or more prior emails in the emailthread.
 31. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein identifyingcomprises: identifying in the message one or more phrases based on acollection of predefined phrases; and analyzing the one or moreidentified phrases for the entity and the contact information.
 32. Theelectronic device of claim 31, the one or more programs furtherincluding instructions for: updating the collection of predefinedphrases over a network.
 33. The electronic device of claim 31, the oneor more programs further including instructions for: downgrading one ormore of the predefined phrases as a result of a request to reject thesuggested contact.
 34. The electronic device of claim 31, the one ormore programs further including instructions for: generating one or moreof the predefined phrases by cross-correlating contact information inthe database with language associated with contact information on theelectronic device.
 35. The electronic device of claim 27, the one ormore programs further including instructions for: receiving a requestfor a contact; and in response to the request for a contact, searchingthe suggested contact.
 36. The electronic device of claim 27, the one ormore programs further including instructions for: in response to thegeneration of the contact, refraining from storing the suggested contactin a remote database over a network.
 37. The electronic device of claim27, the one or more programs further including instructions for:receiving a request to add the suggested contact to the database; and inresponse to the request to add the suggested contact to the database,storing the generated contact, without the indication that the generatedcontact is a suggested contact, in the database.
 38. The electronicdevice of claim 36, the one or more programs further includinginstructions for: in response to the request to add the suggestedcontact to the database, storing the generated contact, without theindication that the generated contact is a suggested contact, in aremote database over a network.
 39. The electronic device of claim 27,the one or more programs further including instructions for: receiving arequest to reject the suggested contact; and in response to receivingthe request to reject the suggested contact, preventing the suggestedcontact from being generated in the future as a result of the entity andthe contact information being identified in a future message.